Vermont state workers might be able to avoid some of the 660 job cuts they’re facing if they and the state reopen their labor contract to talk about wage cuts or reductions in hours.
That’s the word from legislators who have been urging that the Vermont State Employees Association contract be reopened.
Gov. Jim Douglas announced in his annual budget address on Thursday that he’s looking to save $17 million by laying off some 600 of the state’s roughly 8,100 employees by the end of the fiscal year in June.
Douglas says the administration did not quite reach last year’s goal of shedding 400 state jobs by attrition.