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February 8, 2011

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The Governor¶s proposed budget will close WDI on March 31, 2011. I am asking you to alert
Governor Cuomo and Budget Director Robert Megna that this is a mistake, damaging working
families and counterproductive to the new administration¶s strategy to strengthen regional
economic capacity. This memo offers an overview of our situation and a strategy to address it.

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The WDI Annual Report (to view, hold the ctrl button and click), explains what we do for
working men and women, our service to business and labor and our role as a third party
intermediary between business, labor, government and environmental organizations. In the last
year, WDI has operated on reappropriations from previous years, providing targeted and flexible
services where government agency funds have been restricted. These operating funds have
enabled us to develop regional capacity, strategic alliances with businesses and unions, and bring
in millions of dollars in Federal funds.

The Governor¶s proposed repeal of our reappropriations is a mistake; part of a general sweep of
available funds by staff in the Division of the Budget (DOB). They do not know what we do.
We need those funds to keep our doors open. Even if we were to get new money in the coming
budget, it would take us six (6) months to get contracts in place, signed and approved by the
Attorney General and Comptroller; and then gain access to any new funds. On April 1, 2011, we
could not pay rent and staff salaries or offer services without the funds we already have contracts
for. Those contracts would not be valid if funds are repealed, as is being proposed.

Further, no bank would lend us money without valid contracts in place to back it up. We have
no assurance of a budget being passed on time. Also, as long as the word repeal remains in the
proposed budget, state agencies will not be allowed by DOB to reimburse us until the word
repeal is removed with the Governor's signature. That is what happened last year, but we had
some reappropriations that were not repealed and were able to continue using them until the
word repealed was removed when the Governor signed the 2010-11 budget. This year they
propose to repeal everything.



Page 2






The first phase of our strategy toward enabling WDI to exist after March 31, 2011 is to get
Governor Cuomo to amend his proposed budget submission to include the reappropriation of our
funds. This is the highest priority for us now. Under the NYS Constitution, the Governor has 30
days to amend his budget, but recent practice established by the Budget Reform Act, gives him
only 21 days from February 1, 2011, when he submitted the budget.

Therefore, we must get all of our allies focused on immediately communicating to Governor
Cuomo and the Director of DOB that the repeal is a ³mistake´. We need to get letters and e-
mails to both the Governor and Director of DOB immediately. Our message is that this was
done by DOB staff as part of a larger move to save money without them knowing what WDI
does and how effective our work is, and that it supports the Governor¶s efforts to strengthen New
York¶s economy.

The Annual Report has plenty of examples of success for letter writers to use; of where we help
businesses, workers and families, region by region. We do that with flexible funds; filling gaps
in available resources, distribute money quickly, when existing state agency programs are unable
to respond, especially during a transition in government. The Governor wants to streamline
programs and make them more responsive. It will take him time to establish his programs, and
we are already operating, in place and helping.

The next message is that these operating funds have enabled us to bring in millions in federal
funds, like the Smart Grid money which has created 65 outside line worker jobs in five (5)
months, is on track to create 150 jobs per year for 450 jobs in three (3) years. We were
supported by Governor Paterson, NYS Smart Grid Consortium and NYSTAR in this application
and one of only two (2) projects in NYS to receive funds and mentioned by the PSC in their
energy plan. Our successful childcare program, which serves 1,700 families and 2,500 children,
will end if we do not have people to staff it. So will our vocational services/community college
program for people with disabilities. Without our operating funds, we cannot support these
supplemental programs and our federal funds will not come into the state.

Further, we will no longer be here to provide workforce intelligence, green jobs training and
serve as an intermediary between, state agencies, organized labor, environmentalists and
business.

Please get all our partners in your regions and across the state, businesses, those we have trained
and other partners to write letters this week. We must act now. Each of them can use the
messages I mention and those in the Annual Report, on Page 3, and examples on the following
pages to draft their letters. It is less important whether the letters are perfect. We need lots sent
now from all over the state.


Page 3

The messages should be very clear and specific.

We want the Governor to renew our funds as seen in his 2011-12 proposed budget.






  
 

Page numbers:

Pg 404, Line 14-22, WDI Operations, $4,823,000

Pg 405, Line 28-31, Erie Canal, $1,354,000
Pg 405, Line 32-34, IBEW $108,000
Pg 405, Line 49-52, ATU, $307,000
Pg 405, Line 53-57, Bldg. Trades, $325,000

Not all of that money is left to spend, but these line items focus on the original appropriations
from years ago.

Please distribute the Annual Report and e-mail copies of the report to your complete personal
and professional network asking them to write to the Governor and Budget Director
immediately. The Report is also available on our web page: wdiny.org. They can download the
report from the picture on the right.

Letters should be sent to:

Honorable Andrew M Cuomo, Governor

State Capitol
Albany, New York 12224

Robert L. Megna, Budget Director

NYS DOB
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224


Page 4

While letters are most important they should also e-mail messages through the following links:

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Contact Governor Cuomo

Contact Division of the Budget: Comment Form

Please let me know if you need more copies of the Annual Report. While we are focused on the
Governor and Director of the Budget now, we will need to continue our focus on the Legislature
to renew our funds. Legislators can also communicate with the Governor directly, so please ask
them to do that making the same case, that WDI is an essential partner. We will also need them
in the next phase to get funds for next year.

Please share this information with your personal and professional networks by e-mail.
People are speaking out through e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. We are standing up for working
families. This strategy will work if we use these technologies, engaging our personal, social and
professional networks and get them to act, NOW. Tomorrow could be too late. Each day
counts. The more we inform the Governor's office and DOB with information showing how
valuable WDI is to New York State, the better chance we have of continuing to help the workers
of New York.

For more information, please contact Ed Murphy at emurphy@wdiny.org.

Thank you, in advance, for your help.

Ed Murphy
Executive Director
wdiny.org

Learn more about WDI, view our video. Hold the ctrl button and click on the following link:

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