Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued layoff notices to more than 3,400 state employees who are members of Public Employees Federation (PEF), New York state’s second-largest workers’ union, after the group rejected a five-year contract the governor proposed at the end of September. The layoffs are due to take effect next week, though PEF is now negotiating with Cuomo in an attempt to avoid the layoffs.

The proposed contract — which PEF’s membership voted down by a margin of 19,629 against and 16,906 in favor — contained substantial wage and benefits concessions, including a wage freeze for the first three years of the deal to be followed by 2 percent wage increases in the following two years, increased health insurance costs and five days of work furloughs and four days of deferred pay each year. The contract deal promised to protect workers from layoffs, though only for two of the five years.

Darcy Wells, director of public relations for PEF, said that Cuomo has been engaged in continuing negotiations with PEF for the past few weeks.

“We are currently in talks with the governor with the specific goal of saving the jobs of 3,496 of our members by reaching an agreement our members will ratify,” Wells said.

However, it may be difficult for PEF to achieve a deal with Cuomo for less wage and benefit concessions, as Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), New York State’s largest workers’ union, already approved a similar deal in June.

“Gov. Cuomo isn’t going to want to negotiate a contract with PEF that is substantially better than the one negotiated with CSEA,” said Jennifer Jensen, a political science professor at Binghamton University. “If PEF got a much better deal, CSEA members would be even more upset with their own contract.”

PEF is currently trying to shorten the deal’s length from five years to three. However, Cuomo’s administration has been adamant about obtaining a significant amount of money for the state’s budget, on the order of $450 million, from “workforce savings” through labor negotiations and widespread layoffs. Cuomo’s unyielding stance on budget savings has sparked criticism from some Democratic politicians, particularly after the governor’s refusal earlier this year to extend an income tax surcharge on high-earning New York state residents.

Gov. Cuomo’s office did not respond to requests for comment for this article.

Though the timeline for future contract negotiations between PEF and Gov. Cuomo remains indefinite, Jensen said that the parties will have to reach a decision soon.

“Time is running out, as over 3,000 PEF employees have or will soon receive layoff notices, and those layoffs will start to take effect on Oct. 19 if there is no new contract,” Jensen said.

Pauline Berkowitz, an undeclared freshman at BU, said she thought that PEF made the wrong decision in rejecting Cuomo’s contract.

“Now [they are going to be] unemployed and being employed is always better, even if the conditions are worse,” she said.

Simon Kourounis, a 44-year-old civil engineer for the Department of Transportation who lives in Flushing, Queens, told The New York Times that he believed Gov. Cuomo was at fault for not seeking to extend the tax surcharge on New Yorkers with high incomes.

“I’m glad that we stood up to him, 100 percent,” Kourounis said, according to the Times. “I feel bad for anybody who’s going to lose their jobs because of his tactics. But it’s not our fault; it’s his tactics. We all know he wants to run for president. You start laying off union people, who do you think is the backbone of this country? It’s unionized workers.”