Proposal increases mandatory furlough days for Oregon state workers

SALEM, OR — In an effort to help Oregon cope with its deepening budget crisis, Governor Ted Kulongoski has proposed that state workers lose 24 days of pay over the next two years, according to The Oregonian.


Included in the unprecedented proposal are plans for workers to get a mixture of unpaid holidays and days off without pay and eliminating the salary increases that many state workers get annually, the story stated.


Both the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the two unions representing the majority of state workers, had expressed a willingness to accept eight furlough days, the number Governor Kulongoski proposed in December, the story noted.


The furloughs would save the state's general fund $105 million over the next two years while eliminating cost-of-living increases would save an additional $56 million, the story added.