1.   Although she said she was not enthusiastic about workfare, she said the center hired the workfare participants and offered permanent jobs to them when openings developed.

2.   As a result, winning higher wages for workfare participants could prove even harder than unionizing them.

3.   After the hearing, DiBrienza said he would continue to push the Giuliani administration to track the number of workfare participants who later return to the welfare rolls.

4.   Aides to the governor say he would be willing to give longtime workfare participants preference in hiring for government jobs.

5.   But in its unanimous decision, the Appellate Division noted that state law specifically authorizes paying the minimum wage to workfare participants.

6.   But McEntee said that in states that do not consider workfare participants to be workers, unions would lobby state legislatures to change their laws.

7.   City officials say that welfare is temporary and that workfare participants are not city employees, and thus they are not permitted to be represented by a union.

8.   Congress might better permit states to pay workfare participants somewhat less than minimum wage but keep them eligible for the tax credit.

9.   Critics say it could also reduce the incentive for workfare participants to leave the rolls for private jobs.

10.   Democrats also want to give workfare participants the right to join unions and to become government employees after a certain amount of time in the program.