Gov. David Paterson's decision to close the budget gap by eliminating nearly 8,900 jobs has workers across New York State fearing they could soon end up on the unemployment line.

The governor has yet to specify which jobs could be on the chopping block. However, unions representing employees at the Department of Motor Vehicles and other state agencies say they will not reopen their contracts.

Paterson claims that unions representing state employees are not willing to do their part to help close a $16.2 billion deficit for the next budget year, which begins April 1.

In an interview with News 12 Westchester, Bill Riccaldo, regional president of Civil Service Employees Association, claimed it is Paterson who is at fault.

"If the governor really wanted to make this work," Riccaldo says. "He should have kept sitting down with us and ... working out the problems. He hasn't done that."