Mangano moves on union salary cut threat

As promised, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano this week proposed local legislation to set aside existing county labor contracts and reduce union workers salaries as a way to wring $60 million in savings from next year's budget.

The ordinance submitted by Mangano calls for the county legislature to direct county officials to establish salaries consistent with his proposed $2.6-billion budget, regardless of "any terms in any labor-related agreement to the contrary."

The legislation stops short of declaring a fiscal emergency - which some say is a key step for trying to open public union contracts without declaring bankruptcy. Instead, it calls for county lawmakers to declare that taxpayers are facing "unprecedented economic hardships" and that current economic conditions are "materially inconsistent" from last year, when Mangano's Democratic predecessor Thomas Suozzi renegotiated Nassau's five union contracts.

The legislation also bluntly states that salaries are not deferred nor will there be retroactive increases.

Jerry Laricchiuta, president of the county's Civil Service Employees Association, doubted Mangano's authority to override union contracts. If Mangano succeeds, he said, "This could have national implications, Nassau County has found a simple loophole to break every contract in the country."

When Mangano presented his 2011 budget Wednesday, he said he would "order" $60 million in labor concessions as part of his strategy to hold the line on county property taxes. He repeated Friday that local and national labor law lawyers "provided us with a road map" to reach into existing union contracts and reduce salaries if the county legislature approves. He declined to discuss legal strategy.

The concessions, he said, are spread among all county departments to allow for maximum flexibility and do not reflect an across-the-board percentage reduction. "We can move the money around to reflect negotiation and settlement with labor or . . . order savings," he said.

Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa) said through a spokesman that he will put fellow Republican Mangano's legislation before the county legislature in the next few weeks.

While he would not say how he will vote, Schmitt "supports the efforts of the county executive to negotiate savings from the unions," said spokesman Ed Ward.

But Legis. Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn) said, "In my experience as an attorney and as someone who has been involved in union negotiations and in drafting and enforcing contracts, I cannot for the life of me think of precedent that would allow me to void a contract that we as a public body entered into and ratified."

Former Suffolk Chief Deputy County Executive Paul Sabatino, now a private attorney, said, "It would take enabling state legislation at a minimum in order to unilaterally impose changes on existing collective bargaining agreements" because the state Taylor Law governs public union contracts.

If the state declared a fiscal emergency, Sabatino said, "that opens up a little bit of a door." But he added, "It would take very very extraordinary circumstances to even try to invoke that financial crisis situation."

However, Nassau County Attorney John Ciampoli said the county "is not in conflict with the Taylor Law" and Mangano said his 2011 budget "averts a fiscal emergency. It places Nassau County back on the road to fiscal stability and financial security."