Saying "the state has run out of money," Governor David Paterson is withholding scheduled 4 percent raises for 137,500 state employees until the Legislature enacts a state budget that closes a $9 billion budget gap. Judging from budget developments, state workers may have to wait.. Read More
School districts that freeze employee salaries would get more state aid under a plan being considered by Albany lawmakers. This, of course, would require unions representing... Read More
Patrick M. Regan, a political science professor at Binghamton University, says his union--United University Professions--should agree to forgo 4 percent pay raises in July. In a op-ed in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, Regan writes... Read More
"It's patently unfair that most New York public workers aren't making the kind of sacrifices commonplace among the people who foot the bulk of bills for their salaries and Read More
Would the "comprehensive reforms" unveiled today by the state Senate's Majority Democrats "fix the state’s broken budget process and give New Yorkers a fiscally responsible budget," as they claim? Of course not. There are, however, some good ideas... Read More
That's the provocative title of a Working Paper newly posted on the website of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The answer, in a word, is "yes." The co-authors of the paper, which focuses on strikes by nurses in New York between 1984... Read More
Support for some kind of wage freeze (state, local, school district or all public employees) is growing as shown by newspaper editorials in recent weeks (here) and (here). In the past few days, additional editorials weighing in on the topic... Read More
New York state educators are warning that proposed cuts in state aid to public schools next year could force more than 14,000 teacher layoffs. Read More