Bill de Blasio and Labor Unions, Essay Example

The program of new mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio includes the program for “Jobs for All New Yorkers, Growth for All Neighborhoods”. However, de Blasio did not have an easy task after taking over the office, as the previous mayor, Bloomberg has created something that was labeled as a “cold war” (Katz, 2014) with labor unions. The satisfaction of unions with the mayor’s approach to solve the problem is clear from the statement of the Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (Quoted by Katz, 2014): “we felt much better compared to the nine-year battle we had with the old administration”. The fact that the new mayor opened up for negotiations and looked at unions as partners, instead of enemies in a battle has created a positive atmosphere, and a chance for reaching an agreement.

Bill de Blasio is committed to working together with union leaders to create a New York where every resident has better opportunities for work. In the beginning of his term, he had to face the task of negotiating and reaching an agreement with more than 152 unions representing almost 300.000 employees in the municipality of New Yor. (Baker, 2014). The steps the new mayor took, as well as the challenges created by the previous administration, the new leadership’s conflict handling approaches, as well as the differences between Bloomberg’s and de Blasio’s attitudes towards labor unions will be analyzed in the below paper.

Labor Union Focus Bloomberg Vs. De Blasio

One of the main programs of de Blasio is to “Help Workers Enforce Their Wage and Labor Rights” in order to provide jobs and growth for all New Yorkers (DeBlasio.com). This approach needs the implementation of consultation with Union leaders, which was made hard by the Bloomberg administration. Anderson (2006) describes the Bloomberg administration of New York as one that embraced “antiunionism”. Further, he states that Bloomberg used the “stick but no carrot” approach when dealing with unions, especially the United Federation of Teachers. Further, the author states that “Mayoral control followed by aggressive education reform efforts resulted in a contract stalemate between the UFT and the city administration” (p. 230). Overall, Bloomberg’s approach towards unions was to take over the control and reduce their influence in order to weaken the labor unions’ bargaining power. He did not recognize the importance of reaching reasonable arrangements, and this resulted in a “growing voice of resistance” (Anderson, 2006, p. 238). Later, unions turned to communities to seek solidarity, and this resulted in what is now called “cold war” between the New York administration and labor unions.

A recent CBS report (2013), the new mayor did not approve the way Bloomberg handled the unions. Indeed, he stated, reflecting the lack of agreements with 152 unions: “That’s never happened before. No previous mayor ever let that happen. We’re talking about a lot of different mayors, a lot of different ideologies and approaches, but no mayor ever let that happen before “. As for the future, he stated that next Wednesday he “will talk to the unions about innovative ways to provide better and cheaper health care.”. While critics stated that de Blasio did not clearly state how much he set aside from the budget to settle the deals with labor unions, he took the first step. In February, he cut the first labor contract with environmental officers (Katz, 2014). Wyndler, the representative of the Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association stated reflecting on past experiences with Bloomberg’s team: “”It took several negotiations sessions with the old administration, 11 arbitration dates, a Supreme Court hearing and one final meeting in December to get nothing done”. While the previous administration was not aiming for agreement, de Blasio picked up line of the negotiations, started with a clean slate and found ways of creating a common ground for agreement.

Handling Conflicts: Inherited Labor Contracts

The inherited unsigned contracts with 152 labor unions in the municipality of New York have created a sense of urgency in de Blasio. He stated: “The future should not have been mortgaged in this way. But it was by the previous administration and we will have to grapple with it” (Colvin, 2014). Reflecting on his initial approach towards closing the contracts and re-opening negotiations, the mayor stated: “At this point we don’t know where the labor negotiations will lead us. Obviously we’ve said we want to to try to get an aggressive start on them and we hope to achieve some real cost savings in the bargain” (Colvin, 2014). The most important issue the new administration had to deal with was the rising health care costs, potentially increasing the contributions of workers, as well as the local government’s support provided for the unions. The budget was, at this time, flexible, however, the director of budget, Dean Fuleihan  (Quoted by NGO, 2014) reassured the public that “we’re going to treat the workforce with a respect that they’ve not been treated with, and at the same time protect the taxpayers and do something that’s affordable”. This clear standpoint of de Blasio confirms that he is not only aiming for an agreement, but considers the long-term interest of all citizens in New York City.

It is evident that de Blasio is trying to reach agreements as soon as possible and therefore is attempting to gain society’s support. Indeed, he realized that his policies related to labor force, reducing unemployment, offering work stability and training would need union support. Without gaining union’s approval, several of the proposed policies would not be feasible; for example expanding youth opportunities in the city, work sharing, or providing better education for children. It is also important to note that in September 2013, before he was elected, de Blasio received endorsement from UFT delegates, which was a significant milestone of his campaign (Ocasio, 2013). The relationship of unions with previous New York leader, Bloomberg, indeed, did not offer UFT a choice but to back a candidate other than Bloomberg. (UFT, 2013). The article also states that the education policies of Bloomberg and de Blasio were very similar, therefore, it is evident that the decision was made based on which candidate would be more open to negotiation and collaboration. The union chose de Blasio, and he indeed reached an agreement with them about workers’ health care and compensation within months of being elected.

Barkan (2014) also confirms that while Scott Stringer, the new comptroller of the budget criticized the new mayor for not accounting for the expenses in detail to settle labor union agreements, he also praised the de Blasio’s efforts to increase minimum wages and to try and support prekindergarten education.

De Blasio had to face with the challenge of more than 300.000 workers with expired contracts for more than 5 years, as a result of no agreements between labor unions and mayor Bloomberg. The unions were initially demanding 7 billion dollars for retroactive pay increases. (McMahon, 2014). Paying this amount, however, was not the solution, as it would have greatly impacted the budget of the city, and could have resulted in either lack of funding for other programs, or even financial troubles. That is why de Blasio’s administration, and the new budget director, Fuleihan decided to sit down at the negotiating table and try to come up with ideas that would benefit the taxpayers, workers, and the city as well.

Consequences Of De Blasio’s Actions

The financial plan of the city (DiNapoli, 2014, p. 20) accounts for an annual growth of 3.6 percent for salaries and wages, 18.2 percent increase in debt services, 7.2 percent for health insurance. Indeed, the new mayor has accounted for increase of payments, and the potential expense of making backdated payments for missed pay rises. Even though funds were aside, the document states that (p. 22) “Although the City had set aside resources to fund two annual wage increases of 4 percent in calendar years 2009 and 2010 for teachers and principals (similar to increases negotiated with the City’s other unions), the City later redirected those resources to offset a sharp reduction in State education aid”. The document also states that settling labor union contracts was one of the main priorities of the new city administration, the leadership was trying to negotiate cost savings based on the simple fact that it was not possible to pay the retroactive pay rises all in one. The city would have had to find an extra 7.8 billion in the first year and an extra 3 billion in the following years. There was no realistic opportunity to fund paying off the increases at once without jeopardizing the budget.

Conclusion

By settling the agreements and taking responsibility for the city’s missed opportunities, the new mayor is sending out a positive approach towards labor unions and the public. As it is likely – according to the recent financial plan (DiNapoli, 2014) – that sales and income tax revenues are going to rise in the city in the next four years, this extra income could cover the future  commitments the new administration makes this year when settling union contracts. Overall, it is evident that mayor de Blasio has the issue under control and understands that he needs to maintain a positive working relationship with union leaders to get their and the public’s support to carry on with his program.

Works Cited

Anderson, N. “Hostile Takeover: Antiunionism And The Neoliberal Politics Of Urban School Reform In New York” WorkingUSA: The Journal of Labor and Society · 1089-701. Volume 9. June 2006. pp. 225–243 2006. Print.

Baker, D. “All eyes on New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, America’s leading progressive” The Guardian. 2014. Web.

Barkan, R. “Stringer Doesn’t Think de Blasio’s Budget Deals With Open Labor Contracts” New York Observer. 2014. Web.

CBS New York. “Bloomberg’s Meddling Ways On Unions Don’t Sit Well With De Blasio” 2013. Web.

Colvin, J. “De Blasio Says Bloomberg ‘Mortgaged’ City’s Future With Unsettled Labor Contracts” New York Observer. 2014. Web.

DiNapoli, T. “Review of the Financial Plan of the City of New York” March 2014. 2014. Web.

McMahon, E. “Pre-retroactive pay raises. How New York City teachers’ salaries have grown since their union contract expired in 2009”. Manhattan Institute. 2014. Web. NGO, E. “De Blasio wants health savings from labor” Newsday, 2014. Web.

Ocasio, L. “UFT delegates vote to endorse Bill de Blasio for mayor” United Federation of Teachers. 2013. Web.