Unions greet layoff plans with fear, anger

As news of County Executive Edward Mangano's plans for layoffs and job cuts circulated among Nassau County workers Wednesday, some expressed fear, while others conceded that more union givebacks may be necessary.

Ellerton Antwine of Roosevelt predicted that if layoffs occur, many county workers will have to move away. "There will be a lot fewer homeowners to protect and to contribute to the county's economy."

Antwine, 45, a carpenter with the Department of Public Works for nearly a decade, said the Mangano administration should "sit down with the union leaders and work out a solution that won't hurt so many people and the county itself."

Robert Campo, 61, of Lindenhurst, a supervisor at the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant, agreed.

"But they've got to treat us fairly," he said. "We gave back in '08, '09 and last year. Everybody's got to feel the pain, not just the civil service workers.

"Also, I can tell you that it won't take too many layoffs in DPW to cause all kinds of problems," Campo said. "We're already shorthanded in many areas."

But Thomas Albanese, 52, a financial systems administrator with 16 years in the Department of Assessment, said union concessions may be necessary.

"We're all concerned. You never know who is going to get hit, but we're going to have to make concessions. We did it under [former County Executive Thomas] Suozzi," said Albanese, of Valley Stream.