These “furloughs” affect workers of ALL ranks and seniority levels . . . even those slated to “retire” in the next 3 years. They also have the effect of negating end-career “retired-pay spiking” (whether deliberate or not) since public retirement benefits are based upon the highest 1 yr or avg of 3 yrs salary. If a rank-and-file member at the “height” of their “career” and close to retirement gets a 3-5% annual “step raise” in accordance with their union contract, any furlough taken that calendar year wipes out part or all of that raise, keeping their annual gross pay for that year down to a previous level even though they are now making more per hr.
