Thousands rally against Hawaii furlough plan

By HERBERT A. SAMPLE - Associated Press Writer Thousands of state employees rallied at the state Capitol Tuesday afternoon to denounce Gov. Linda Lingle's plans to force them and their co-workers to take three unpaid days off each month. Leaders of the four state employee unions painted the Republican governor as unwilling to negotiate the furlough plan, which they said would hurt workers' pocketbooks and the state's economy. The furlough plan, which Lingle estimates will close $688 million of a $729 million state budget deficit over the next two years, "is going to destroy this state," said Roger Takabayashi, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association. Randy Perreira, executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, said his members know the state's economy is in a difficult spot. "In a fair way, we... [read full story]                    

powered by