Barely one in five private construction workers in New York State was covered by a union contract last year, according to newly released statistics that call into question a state public works "prevailing wage" mandate that assumes 30 percent union coverage of building trades occupations across New York. Read More
In a consequential win for government transparency, the New York State Supreme Court has ordered a Long Island school district to comply with the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), following years of evasion. In addition to providing its teacher and superintendent contracts, Malverne Union Free School District has reimbursed the Empire Center for Public Policy’s legal expenses. Read More
Following several ignored Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests for its teacher and superintendent contracts, the Empire Center for Public Policy today will file a lawsuit against Malverne Union Free School District in Nassau County on Long Island. Read More
A total of 270 new police, fire, teacher and superintendent contracts were uploaded today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
Just in time for the start of another school year, the Empire Center has updated its comprehensive SeeThroughNY database of teacher union contracts for school districts across New York State. Read More
While the news media and public were distracted by the questions swirling around the future leadership of the Senate Republican majority, the Senate this week moved a bill that would lock in tens of billions of dollars of unfunded lifetime health insurance coverage health coverage for police and firefighters. Read More
Throughout New York State, no public document has a greater impact on tax burdens and educational performance than the local teacher union contract. Yet few school districts have made any effort to share these contracts with taxpayers — and so the Empire Center has stepped into the breach by doing it for them. Read More
The Empire Center is participating in "Sunshine Week," a nationwide effort to promote government transparency. Check back during the week to see our latest releases. Read More