Contract Negotiations, Budgets and Politics: Getting “Things” Done in the Big Apple
Posted on June 27, 2023 | Leave a comment
“There is a more powerful connection than people think between the world of ideas and the world of practical politics.” Richard Ravitch
Richard Ravitch passed away, while never elected to office; he was appointed to a vacancy as lieutenant governor, he was one of the most powerful and influential New Yorkers behind the scenes.
“What distinguished him,” said State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, “was the credibility he had with stakeholders who knew his aggressiveness about issues he cared about wasn’t part of any political calculation, his depth of knowledge and experience, and a youthful impatience.”
Commenting on the budgetary demands in New York and in other states Ravitch wrote “…the challenge is how a free society can reduce benefits for some and increase burdens for others without tearing unacceptably at the social fabric.”
“In a democracy,” he argued, “if you insist on being above politics, you cannot govern well.”
The current set of labor negotiations and agreeing on a city budget exemplifies the role of politics.
The mayor is working his way through the labor agreements, unions represent hundreds of thousands of public employees, who rightfully argue for raises, improvement in working conditions and a role in decision-making: labor management collaboration.
The city’s economic future is tenuous and the City Council has a long list of demands, from migrants to libraries to schools and on and on. The current budget expires on June 30th and a late budget is a possibility, it will also negatively impact the interest rates the city pays on bonds.
The Citizens’ Budget Commission, an independent watchdog not-for-profit worries,
The burgeoning habit of funding major programs one year at a time—fiscal cliff creation—is effectively putting the budget dance of years’ past on steroids, potentially creating massive annual service crises.
Budget hawks at the state level also warn the state will be seeing increasing budget deficits.
A New York Times editorial leads with sharp criticism of the Mayor’s budget.
After a decade-long spending spree and a devastating pandemic, New York City is now staring at three years of huge budget deficits, beginning with at least $4.2 billion in the year that starts in July 2024.
While a caucus within the teacher union rails against the tentative agreement and urges a “no” membership vote one can look upon the agreement as beyond expectations considering the fiscal situation of the city and the state.
Ravitch was one of the powerful unelected The New Yorkers who played a major role in running the city. The story of how Ravitch and Shanker saved the city in 1975 is fascinating..
I’m sure you never heard of Frank Carone, An attorney he was the lawyer for the Kings County Democratic Party, the Chief of Staff for Adams and now runs a political advisement firm and “gets things done.”
In the current round of negotiations the unions squeezed every dollar (and then some) and every concession out of the city, presaging Adams run in the June, 2025 mayoral primary.
We are in the final days of the hassling over the city budget, Mayor Adams and Council Speaker Adams crossing swords, CUNY, 25 campuses and 243,000 students is funded by NYS and NYC, and the mayor’s budget includes substantial cuts, see the CUNY Rising Alliance site, a coalition of 20 organizations fighting for CUNY.
A Daily New article reports,
The City University of New York is sitting on nearly $80 million in
unspent federal funding, causing Mayor Eric Adams’ office and the City
Council to question the university system’s vehement opposition to a
proposed funding reduction in this year’s municipal budget,
The funds are not “sitting” anywhere, they are tied up in the state procurement process, and the reporter should have investigated, did the mayor’s team pass along a note to the reporter? Welcome to the world of politics. The only rule is there are no rules.
Probably some time over the weekend the Mayor and the Speaker will have the traditional “handshake” agreement, to slide into next week would make the mayor look weak, then again, it’s politics.