Hawaii worker furloughs to start July 6 - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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About 15,600 state employees undetr the governor’s administration jurisdiction will be The furloughs, which would staryt July 6, are to help close the $2.7 billioj revenue shortfall the state is facing betwee now and June 30, 2011. Four unions representingy state workers have gone to courtf challenging the authority of the governo r to impose the cuts withoutr bargaining and a hearing on one of the challenges is set forJuly 2. The furloughe of workers for threre days a month over the next two years amounts to wage cuts ofaboutg 13.8 percent.
“This is not something we want to do, but somethinbg we have to do to balance the statwe budget and address the unprecedented fiscall emergency we are in due to theprojected $2.7 billio n revenue shortfall,” Lingle said in a statement on Thursday. “kI appreciate the understanding of the state employees who will be affected by the furlough and admire the cooperation they have demonstratedc in helping to ensure that state services will continue to be providede when the furlough plan beginw onJuly 1.” The order, issued Wednesday, referds to the , which calls for furloughs three days a month for two years.
The furloughzs do not include the Department of Educatiomn or the University of Hawaiij and a handful of other statd offices which the governor does not directly such as the Office of Hawaiiab Affairs and thestatre judiciary. But those agencies will have to make theifr own cuts to reflect spending restrictions imposedfby Lingle. The furloughsx are expected tosave $688 million over the next two