Governor Cuomo pointed out at last week’s budget presentation that New York school districts would find it easier to deal with a proposed cut in state school aid if they froze wages for teachers and administrators. But given the attitude of most teacher unions, this is easier said than done.
For example, teachers in the Syracuse suburb of Liverpool were asked to consider a voluntary pay freeze to help the district eliminate $1.4 million of a projected $5.7 million budget gap for 2011-12. The teachers union refused. The union’s president explained that the scheduled 2.2 percent raises for Liverpool teachers “are really fairly minimal.”
Inflation in 2010 was 1.6 percent and is projected by the state Budget Division to be 1.8 percent in 2011. So those “minimal” raises in Liverpool are comfortably ahead of the increase in the cost of living.
Elsewhere, the Hadley-Luzerne school board recently approved a one-year contract with their teacher’s union, giving members a 2 percent raise. It’s unclear if the figure includes automatic annual step increments as well. The raises represent an added expense of $30,000 in 2011-12. Hadley-Luzerne has to close a projected $750,000 budget gap next year according to this story in the Glens Falls Post Star.
School districts aren’t the only jurisdictions that haven’t been able to persuade unions to forgo wage hikes in light of the fiscal crisis. Faced with an $11 million budget gap, Sullivan County would have saved about $3.3 million if union members had been willing to defer their next raise, according to the Middletown Times Herald-Record. But the union wouldn’t budge—not even to save jobs—and the county Legislature reluctantly voted for layoffs. Adrian Huff, secretary-treasurer for Teamster’s Local 455 said, “Those legislators that voted for [the layoffs] … they need to go.” As if Legislators had any other choice.
So don’t buy into the rhetoric that looming layoffs are completely unavoidable. Labor unions all over the state are choosing to force the hand of their employers.
About the Author
You may also like
How Washington’s Budget Bill Will Affect Health Care in New York
UPDATE: The final version of the federal budget bill omitted a handful of provisions that had been included in earlier drafts. One would have penalized states that use their own money to provide coverage for undocumente Read More
Two Dozen School Districts Are Returning to the Polls for Budget Revotes
Voters in 24 New York school districts return to the polls on Tuesday for school budget revotes. Last month, voters in 96 percent of school districts outside New York City conducting votes approved their school budgets for the upcoming year.
The 683 sc Read More
New York’s Proposed ‘MCO Tax’ Would Generate a Fraction of What Lawmakers Expected
The Hochul administration's proposed "MCO tax" would generate far less than the $4 billion in extra federal aid anticipated by state lawmakers when they approved the concept this spring, according to documents obtained by t Read More
How 1199 Earns its Reputation as Albany’s No. 1 Labor Power Broker
For the fourth time in six years, the president of New York's largest health-care union, George Gresham of 1199SEIU, has won the top spot on the "Labor Power 100" list from City &am Read More
New York Runs Away from the Pack on Medicaid Spending
New York's per capita Medicaid spending jumped 14 percent in 2023, moving it further ahead of the rest of the country, recently released nationwide data show.
In the federal fiscal year that ended last September, New York spent $94.6 billion Read More
Hochul’s ‘Straight Talk’ on Medicaid Isn’t Straight Enough
Arguably the biggest Medicaid news in Governor Hochul's budget presentation was about the current fiscal year, not the next one: The state-run health plan is running substantially over budget.
Read More
New York’s Medicaid Spending Is Running Billions Over Budget
New York's Medicaid program ran billions of dollars over budget during the first half of the fiscal year, adding to signs of a brewing fiscal crisis in Albany.
According to the fro Read More
Hospital Lobby’s TV Campaign Spreads Misinformation About Medicaid
As New York's health-care industry agitates for more money from the state budget, two of its most influential lobbying groups are airing TV ads that make alarmist and inaccurate claims about Medicaid. Read More