New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is now caught in a legal battle with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the city’s largest teacher union, which endorsed his candidacy for mayor.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this fight is about money and control.
FOX News has details:
Mamdani turns on New York City teachers union with lawsuit blocking pay raises for educators
The United Federation of Teachers (UFT), New York City’s largest teachers union, is fighting back against Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s efforts to block a city-backed pay raise for education paraprofessionals, after the group previously endorsed him last year.
Last month, the New York City Council unanimously passed the “RESPECT Check Act,” which would offer up to a $10,000-bonus for education paraprofessionals.
Though Mamdani supported a version of the bill in the past, he has since spoken out against it, arguing that it violates New York state’s Taylor Law, which protects public employees’ rights to negotiate issues like compensation. His administration later filed a lawsuit to stop the law from being enacted Aug. 19.
In response, the UFT filed a motion to intervene last week, preparing to take the issue to court if Mamdani continues to fight the measure.
“We knew this lawsuit was a possibility, and we were prepared,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The RESPECT check law, which was unanimously passed by City Council on July 16, was carefully drafted to make sure that it did not violate the state’s Taylor Law, which governs collective bargaining.”
Mamdani’s objection to this seems confusing at first. The raise seems like just the sort of thing he would support.
This report from the New York Post puts it all into perspective. (Emphasis is mine):
Mamdani — who was endorsed in his election run last year by the UFT — claims the way the extra cash for the low-paid education workers was approved by city lawmakers violates state labor law covering contract negotiations with public employee unions.
But lifting the low pay of paras who aid students with disabilities has been a top priority of UFT president Mike Mulgrew, who represents them.
“As the representative of the paraprofessionals, the UFT should be permitted to defend the interests of its members in this important legal proceeding,” the August 25. filing by UFT lawyer Charles Moerdler said.
Starting pay for paras is $33,000 and reaches $56,000 after 15 years.
The pay bump for 10,000 paras would cost the city $324 million.
Mamdani maintains he supports a salary bump for paras or teachers’ aides, but it should be done via collective bargaining or contract talks between his office and the UFT— not dictated by the Council.
The RESPECT Check Act, which passed the Council unanimously, became law without the mayor’s signature.
So the union had the audacity to go around the mayor and negotiate this directly with the city council instead of him.
How dare they?
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