State employee unions are being urged to "do the right thing."
Governor Doyle plans unpaid furloughs and up to 1,100 lay-offs to deal with an increasing budget deficit. He says about 400 of those lay-offs could be avoided if unions forgo a two-percent pay hike.
State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Waunakee) thinks the unions will go along with that plan, since unions have historically done what's needed to protect the jobs of their brothers and sisters.
Erpenbach says the governor is taking extraordinary steps, but these are extraordinary times with the state facing a $5 billion deficit. The gap is expected grow this week though by up to $1.5 billion, when new numbers are released that reflect declining revenue collections.