The city’s teaching assistants will get $10,000 pay bumps after a City Council vote Thursday that bypassed the collective bargaining process — and could face a potential veto from Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The unanimous vote by City Council members fulfilled a long-sought goal by the powerful United Federation of Teachers union to raise the pay of paraprofessionals.
But the approval also came over the objections of many government insiders and watchdogs with the Citizen Budget Commission, who warned the combined $324 million giveaway could set a dangerous — and ultimately even more costly — precedent.
Mamdani, who supported legislation to hike paraprofessional pay as a mayoral candidate, likewise argued that government employees’ pay hikes should be negotiated rather than decided on the whims of lawmakers.
“I want to first just underline the importance of paraprofessionals in our city in our education system. The work that they do is critical,” he said.
“I’ve also said that I believe that this is a matter that is best treated at the bargaining table and we will see what the City Council does, but those are my thoughts on that.”
The mayor’s comments hint he could consider a veto, although the bill passed with ironclad majority that would be able to easily override it.
The prospect of a $10,000 pay hike arose in 2025 after officials with former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration waved off a request for paraprofessional raises.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew threw his support behind a City Council bill that essentially performed an end run around collective bargaining with the Adams administration.
When the measure reemerged this year, Citizens Budget Commission vice president for research Ana Champeny said it’d circumvent the whole point of collective bargaining — namely, balancing the desire for raises with the city’s fiscal capacity and negotiations with other unions.
“If this bill becomes law, other unions may also seek legislation to increase compensation beyond what they collectively bargained,” she said in a statement. “That would weaken the bargaining process, increase pressure for additional off-cycle compensation, and expose the City to substantial future costs.
“The City Council should reject this bill. If it is passed, the Mayor should veto it. The City should continue to determine employee compensation at the bargaining table, not the legislative chamber.”
A former City Hall labor negotiator, who requested anonymity, said the council passing a bill to boost paraprofessionals’ salaries is “stupid, but legal.”
“No union will ever do collective bargaining if they could just go to the legislature and get what they want,” the source said.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin argued lawmakers tried to get the raises through collective bargaining and the budget, but were thwarted by the administration.
“We have more than enough votes to do an override,” she said. “I really hope it does not come to that, to do a veto of a bill that is raising salaries for paras literally making $32,000 a year.. Shameful wages and I don’t understand how that could be controversial or how anyone could disagree with that.”
Additional reporting by Carl Campanile and Craig McCarthy
