State Streamlining Commission hears from State Workers

State workers faced off with members of the Commission on Streamlining Government in a packed Alexandria City Council chamber Tuesday evening.

Many state workers predicted that privatizing state services to save money will put them in the unemployment line.

Most were forced to leave their protest signs outside the meeting room. Instead of holding signs, they vocalized their concerns, rising one by one to object to proposals to privatize more state services.

The commission is traveling around the state to get the public’s comments on efforts to trim state government expenses.

Many said that state officials are unlikely to make hard decisions, such as cutting management rather than lower paid workers.

State Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville, and the commission’s chairman, said many times during the 90-minute meeting that the state is facing a $1 billion shortfall in the budget year that starts July 1.