The Lingle administration yesterday provided public-sector labor unions with a list of 1,100 state workers who face potential layoffs because of the state's budget deficit, but Gov. Linda Lingle did not estimate how much money the state would save by layoffs and repeated her preference for furloughs to reduce labor costs.

Lingle and union leaders are scheduled to meet at noon today in the governor's office, where the state is expected to present a counterproposal to the unions' offer last week of a 5 percent pay cut to help with the deficit.

Lingle said a 5 percent pay cut would save $203 million over two years, far short of the $688 million the governor wants to save in labor costs to reduce a $786 million deficit through June 2011. The governor said adjustments to worker health care costs, which are still being negotiated, could also limit savings from the unions' proposal.

The timing of the administration's layoff plans has raised suspicion among union leaders and leading Democrats that the Republican governor is using the layoff threat to pressure unions into accepting furloughs.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, questioned the need for layoffs. "Why should there be layoffs? The program proposed by labor unions saves money and assures that state services continue. Workers are usually laid off if they are no longer necessary. In a period of economic crisis of this nature, you need government employees to assist others," the senator said in a statement.

"There are moments in our lives when political consequences could be considered. But this is a crisis that affects the lives and properties of our people. We should not make decisions to politically punish or politically enhance a group. This is a time when all of us should put our minds together, set aside differences and work out a solution."

Lingle called Inouye's comments inappropriate.

"By attempting to insert himself into the labor negotiation process, Sen. Inouye is unnecessarily creating a distraction from the fact that without the implementation of labor savings, the state's fiscal crisis will continue to deepen," she said in a statement. "This is not a political issue, as the senator hopes to lead the public to believe, but rather a fiscal reality that we must address."

Although the budget deficit is projected over two years, theoretically giving the administration and state Legislature time to close the gap, Lingle has argued that the state needs to act immediately to reduce labor costs or the cuts will only become deeper and more painful.

BUMPING A POSSIBILITY

The Lingle administration described the layoff list to the Hawai'i Government Employees Association and the United Public Workers as the first step in the reduction-in-force process. The administration and the unions are expected to consult over the names before layoff notices are sent to workers.

Civil-service protections give senior workers the right to bump more junior colleagues and in some cases retain their higher salaries while working at lower positions. The administration said the bumping process could take months, so it could not immediately estimate how much money layoffs would save. The administration also said another round of layoffs could be possible later.

Lingle said department directors who helped draft the layoff list tried to maintain core functions at their departments. The governor said workers in the state departments of Accounting and General Services; Agriculture; Business, Economic Development and Tourism; Health; and Human Services would be hardest hit.

Lingle, however, said she would prefer furloughs to layoffs.

"I want the people of Hawai'i to know that I continue to believe that the furlough plan is the right way to address this fiscal crisis," the governor said after a news conference at Stevenson Middle School about disaster preparedness. "It allows us to keep our employees. It allows us to maximize public services that we can continue to deliver, and yet meet the fiscal crisis that we face.

"It's a real crisis. It's getting worse with each passing week that we're not able to get things resolved."

HGEA and UPW leaders chose not to immediately respond to the layoff list. Union officials said the governor neglected to include important information with the list, including worker retention points, which document seniority and determine bumping rights. The unions also want information on the status of vacant state positions and temporary workers who do not have civil-service protection.

The HGEA had sought to reschedule today's contract talks because top UPW leaders are on the Mainland. But, in a sign of how both sides are trying to manage public perceptions, the HGEA relented late yesterday after the governor said she would be at the meeting regardless and hoped union leaders would show up.