MIAMI -- Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez on Friday announced that nonunion county workers will take a 5 percent across-the-board pay cut.

Alvarez has asked 10 county unions to take a 5 percent pay cut, but the unions are resisting. On Friday, Alvarez took a dose of his own medicine.

"Today, I am announcing a 5 percent pay reduction for all nonunionized, exempt employees who report directly and indirectly to me. These employees, about 2,000 of them, will receive a cut to their base pay basically immediately -- the pay period starting Nov. 2," Alvarez said.

The mayor said the pay cuts for the nonunion county workers would save $34 million.

On Monday, the Miami-Dade County Commission proposed similar 5 percent cuts for members of three unions: aviation, solid waste and general employees. The two biggest unions, police and firefighters, rejected any pay cuts.

"Meeting with them, I said, 'I understand that you represent your members. I understand that, but this is reality. This is what we're facing, not only in Dade County -- the state of Florida, in the United States, if not the world," Alvarez said.

The county commission and county union negotiators must reach a deal on the pay and benefit cuts. They will try to do so again next week.

Each week without a deal has cost taxpayers $4 million. That figure will be reduced because of the pay cuts announced by Alvarez for the nonunion workers.