New York will (one presumes) have a new mayor come January 2014. One question for that mayor will be whether he or she chooses the past or the present.

The (future) present: the new mayor likely will face a deficit of $3.7 billion for his or her inaugural budget (fiscal year 2015). That’s a good seven percent of city tax revenues.

The past: unless Mayor Bloomberg and municipal unions do some serious negotiating in the next few months, the new mayor will face more than a dozen expired contracts — and union leaders requesting retroactive settlements.

As NY1’s Courtney Gross reported yesterday:

Some of those unions say it’s time to pay up, and for many that means back pay. ‘The teachers of New York City deserve a raise,’ said United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew.

At last week’s budget presentation, the mayor made his position on this matter clear. “No administration is going to have money to give for pay in the past,” he said.”

Nor can union leaders offer to pay for back raises via productivity enhancements, as one cannot be more productive on work that’s already been done.

Should the next mayor think differently from Bloomberg, he or she could be looking at a nearly doubled deficit on school workers alone, with payouts for teachers and other school employees alone totaling a cumulative $3.5 billion through 2014 (see page 29).

The next mayoral candidates can make their desired next job easier for the eventual winner by simply saying right now: Bloomberg is right. No retroactive raises. Union leadership should deal with the current mayor.

You may also like

Pols Craft More Handouts for Sinking Construction Unions

New York’s construction unions, facing a decades-long decline, are employing a time-honored tactic: getting state government to stop people from competing with them. Read More

Union Rallies Long Island Pols Against NYC Kids

New York’s statewide teachers union has been cashing in political chits as it seeks to block new charter schools from opening in New York City, asking the senators and assemblymembers Read More

While pleading for money in Albany, hospitals and nursing homes spend at the bargaining table

Friday's announcement of an amended labor contract for New York City-area hospitals and nursing homes sends a contradictory message about the financial condition of the state's health-care industry. Read More

New York’s pricey hospitals draw pushback from labor

A City Council hearing in Manhattan on Thursday promises a rare scene in New York politics: hospitals playing defense. The council is debating whether to establish a watchdog agency focused on the high price of hospital care in New York, with a goal of helping the city and other employers contain the rapidly rising cost of health benefits for workers. Read More

Utility board turns into union tool

The idea that the PSC would artificially drive electricity costs higher to benefit a political constituency represents a new low. Read More

New Docs Raise Big Questions About NY’s Megafab Mega-Deal

The Hochul Administration published a pair of documents concerning the Micron Megafab deal that raise more questions than they answer. Read More

On College Readiness, Comptroller Asks Wrong Question, Delivers Flawed Answer 

Graduation rates are rising while standards for graduation are falling. It begs the question: What number of graduating students are college ready? Read More

A Look at Covid Learning Loss in NYC

New York City set an example worthy of approbation and emulation by publishing their grade 3-8 test results in math and English language arts. Read More