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Mayor Orders Furloughs For LA Workers After Labor Deal Falls Short

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wasted no time in publicly lashing out at a handful of labor groups that rejected a proposed deal with the city.

KNX 1070's Ed Mertz reports the mayor pounded the podium on Wednesday as he announced the latest round of furloughs for public workers.

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"I hearby direct all city general managers to immediately initiate furloughs for those employees and bargaining units who failed to ratify the agreement," Villaraigosa said at a news conference at City Hall.

The mayor ordered 42 furlough days for clerical workers, deputy city attorneys, plant equipment operators as well as safety and security workers.

The unpaid time off comes after the groups rejected a proposed contract outline which was agreed to by 15 other labor groups.

Villaraigosa told reporters the ultimate goal of both the labor deal and the furloughs is to rein in the city's spiraling budget crisis.

"We were either going to get it through this agreement, or we're going to get it through furloughs but we're going to have a balanced budget," Villaraigosa said.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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