A court decision upholding a three-year, 11.5 percent pay raise for New York City transit workers should make local governments elsewhere nervous. State Supreme Court Justice O. Peter Sherwood has upheld an arbitration panel award to the Transport Read More
Nearly 29,000 Syracuse-area residents have lost their jobs and the inflation rate is flat so you'd think that might give school board members pause. Yet, the 10 school districts in the area that settled contracts in the year or so si Read More
The Utica school board ratified a new teachers contract in September 2008--even though school business officials could not tell them how much it will cost future taxpayers. Now, the district says it has calculated the cost, but it refuses to make it Read More
Governor David Paterson wants state employees to defer four percent raises and five days of salary until they retire or quit their jobs. Haven't we seen this movie before? What makes Paterson think the outcome will be any different than when publi Read More
Providing health insurance to retired Utica teachers will cost taxpayers $189 million over the next 30 years, an amount the school board president calls "scary." When it ratified a teachers contract in September 2008, the school board did not know Read More
When New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says Governor Paterson's proposed budget will force him to lay off nearly 12,000 city employees, he appears to ignore his role of negotiating 4 percent employees raises during a recession. Expect similar Read More
For every $100, the state of New York spends on employee salaries, it now spends another $44 on benefits. That figure will jump to $62 dollars in three years, according to the budget division. As the New York Post : The Read More
With the City of White Plains facing a potential 23.5 percent tax hike, you might expect bold action to curb health care costs. Instead city politicians took a timid approach likely to produce small savings this year. Currently, city employees con Read More