How many state workers contracted through private staffing firms make more than $200,000 each year?

The answer is six, according to the latest round of newspaper ads taken out by Council 94, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The advertisement, titled “Can We Afford Governor Carcieri’s Privatization Efforts?” actually lists the names and salaries of “Carcieri’s Top 10” — the 10 highest-paid contract employees in state government. Their salaries range from $172,000 to $280,000, according to Council 94, the largest state employee union in Rhode Island.

The ads represents the union’s latest shot at the Republican governor, who has all but declared war on Rhode Island labor in announcing a plan last week to cut 1,000 state jobs and reduce workers’ benefits by $50 million.

“We’re trying to bring attention to how the public’s money is being spent,” said Dennis Grilli, Council 94’s executive director. “We felt that showing the Top 10 would give them some insight as to how Carcieri’s running his operation.”

The union spent $9,000 to run advertisements in 19 newspapers across Rhode Island between last Tuesday and Thursday. Grilli said the governor’s budget office produced the salary information in response to an open-records request.

Political Scene won’t reproduce all the Top 10 here, but just in case you’re interested here’s a sampling: Topping off the list is Karen Barth, who earns $280,000 as a senior project manager for the Department of Administration. She is followed by Michael Eldridge, who makes $246,000 for running the Department of Corrections’ computer systems; George Olivera is a $227,500-a-year systems engineer assigned to the Department of Labor and Training.

The advertisements were the first to appear in the print media since the previous General Assembly session, but Grilli suggested they may become the norm as labor faces off with the executive branch over layoffs and benefit reductions.

Council 94’s contract expires next July.

“I think before he lays off any of my people he should get rid of the contractors,” Grilli said. “Hopefully we’ll sit down and talk about it.”