6,700 Seattle city workers face 2010 furloughs

The city of Seattle is proposing that city workers agree to take 10 days of furlough next year to prevent layoffs, according to the office of Mayor Greg Nickels.

The Coalition of City Unions, which has posted information about the proposed furloughs on its Web site, will set up informational meetings with members over the next few weeks and will vote on whether to accept the furloughs.

"Over the past several months, we have worked together with our unions and I appreciate their cooperation in these difficult budget times," Nickels said in a statement released Friday afternoon.

The proposal would affect about 6,700 workers, including coalition union members and nonunion employees.

According to the city, uniformed police and fire personnel, and employees represented by IBEW 77 (a union representing 10,000 classifications in the electrical industry), are not being asked to take furloughs under the current proposal.

Employees who make less than $18 an hour or who work in departments with minimum staffing could be exempted from the furlough proposal as well, according to the city.

The city says the furloughs, if accepted by the 20 unions affected, could save about $8 million in the general fund and up to $20 million over the entire city budget. Furlough schedules would be assigned so that most city services would remain available to the public.

The city already has asked for budget reductions from other employees, including library workers, who will take a one-week furlough, and Seattle Public Utilities call-center employees, who have been cut to a 38-hour workweek.

Salaries for 100 senior managers have been rolled back to their 2008 levels, according to Nickels spokesman Alex Fryer.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com