The Constitution requires the “advice and consent” of the Senate (Article 2, section 2, clause 2), hearings and a vote to confirm probably hundreds of members of the executive branch, from cabinet members to ambassadors and on and on.
The Mayor of New York, appoints, or reappoints about three hundred positions, without any approval, the City Council has no role. The deputy mayor, Dean Fuliahan was also deputy mayor under de DeBlasio, the mayor’s chief of staff, Elle Biscoff-Church served in the role for the mayor in the legislature.
A key appointment is always the Police Commissioner, the mayor reappointed Jessica Tisch, an extremely popular commissioner. Under Giuliani and Bloomberg commissioners Kelly and Bratton were high profile, as crime rates dropped in the 1990’s and the 2000s commissioners claimed credit, remember “stop and frisk,”? Is there a black man in the city who hasn’t been stopped?
Eventually litigation and politics ended stop and frisk, and crime rates continued to spiral downwards. New York City is now the safest large city in the nation: sociologists and criminologists muse: why? Tisch uses technology, a database of convicted criminals and gang members and street cameras as sophisticated tracking devices. A candidate for mayor in 2029?
For all of the mayors electoral successes, eight of his recent endorsees won, Mamdani had coattails and wasn’t on the ballot. Mamdani coined the most important word in politics: affordability.
His DSA bros won primaries in a number of states and he’s a “player” on the national stage.
The problem is his home stage.
The chancellor, to be polite, appears to be clueless. A recent report by the highly regarded Research Alliance for the NYC Schools pointed to city agencies in conflict, no coordination, and getting worse.
When the City Council passed the para pay bump the head of the Office for Collective Bargaining panned the decision, and claimed it violated the Taylor Law, well, it also weakened the role of the Office of Collective Bargaining. Was the OLR simply defending its turf? Was the City Council expanding its authority? Is the Mayor in charge?
Did the OLR call Elle? Did the Mayor approve the OLR threat to challenge in court?
New York City has 300,000 city employees and over 150 unions, each union has a collective bargaining agreement and OLR negotiates the contracts. See here
The largest union, DC37 has 62 locals each representing different titles.
The Public Employee Relations Act (PERB), referred to as the Taylor Law (Professor Taylor chaired the Task Force that framed the law), under the Taylor Law every title, in towns, cities or the state is entitled to a union, 1.2 million unionized employees across the state, a substantial potential voting bloc.
Contracts are negotiated by the local governmental entity and the union, PERB only has a role if both parties declare an impasse. PERB employs a mediation, fact-finding, non binding arbitration process ending in a public arbitration decision.
Pattern bargaining and ability to pay are two principles that guide the PERB process, (Read a detailed explanation here) the law does not require the parties to be restricted to these principles and on a number of occasions the UFT and City have agreed on a salary increase above the pattern. Only a few months after his election Bloomberg raced up to Albany seeking a change in school management, from a decentralized school system to mayoral control. The mayoral control system in Boston was lauded. The UFT, with a close relationship with Assembly Speaker Silver could be an impediment. Mayoral Control became law and the next UFT contract was far beyond pattern bargaining salaries. A coincidence?
The City Council decision to improve a pay bump outside of the contract negotiations process opens another pathway and potentially weakens the role of OLR, as I mentioned earlier city agencies bicker, it is up to the mayor to provide leadership.
The Research Alliance for Schools found the shelter system in disarray, families moved from shelter to shelter without regard to school placement, students awaiting busing or new school waiting weeks or longer.
... district and school staff prioritize educational stability and school attendance, while shelter staff prioritize helping families secure emergency shelter, find permanent housing, and comply with case management requirements. In NYC, these priorities can sometimes be at odds, such as when students are placed in a shelter far from their school.
The Agency for Childrens’ Services (ACS), refuses to take chronic absenteeism referrals, (formerly called truancy) even after the attendance teacher reports the parent refuses to send the child to school. Department of Education v ACS: the victim: the child.
The mayor allowed the pay boost legislation to become law by taking no action and challenged the legislation only after it became law: he failed to veto the law. Odd
It is highly unlikely that the mayor wants a judge to decide, the process would further erode the Mayor’s relationship with the UFT and Black and Hispanic communities.
Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman hosts two experts discussing Interdependent Weaponization (Watch here), a description of the Mamdani mayoralty?
Mamdani’s vessel is beginning to leak.
The Mayor and the UFT should be partners, as we inch towards November 3rd members of the Retiree Teachers Chapter (RTC) are in crucial districts knocking on doors, two of my friends in North Carolina, seizing back the Congress is probably the most consequential election of our era. We need our troops and Mamdani’s troops side by side.
If mayor’s agency heads are spending their energy on interagency feuding the mayor must take the reins, the future of public education is at stake.
Ed in the Apple: Blogging on the Intersection of Education and Politics Title 