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Gov. Gregoire announces agreement with unions for a three percent pay reduction

For Immediate Release: December 14, 2010

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire this afternoon announced she has reached a tentative labor agreement to reduce state employees� pay by three percent.

�This agreement again asks our employees to share in the sacrifice,� Gregoire said. �I�m proud to say they are answering that call and doing their part to move Washington through the worst budget shortfall we�ve ever seen.�

The agreement covers 90 percent of state employees, unlike furloughs, which covered about 35 percent of the workforce. Those earning $30,000 or less a year are exempt. The agreement saves $176 million in the general fund � and across all funds will save $330.1 million in the next biennium.

�That amount of savings would pay for child protective services and foster care for our abused and neglected children,� Gregoire said. �Or it would pay for our entire learning assistance program that helps our struggling students across the state succeed in school. State employees have stepped up to share in the sacrifice to get all of us through our fiscal crisis. They have done what thousands of families across Washington have done � they�ve made sacrifices, focused on their highest priorities and aimed for long-term prosperity.�

Gregoire also announced today that she and other state elected officials have written the chair of the state Commission on Salaries, requesting the commission reduce the salaries of elected officials to reflect the level of reduction the Legislature applies to state employees.

�Meeting this challenge will take bold action, and it will take all of us,� Gregoire said.