City workers can breathe a shallow sigh of relief, for the moment. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday plans to delay sending 30-day layoff notices to 22,000 workers as the administration continues to work with unions to address a fiscal crisis brought on by a steep drop in revenue and state and federal aid because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mayor has been warning since June that the city is projecting a steep $9 billion drop in revenues over the next two years and has been calling on labor unions to find additional savings of $1 billion, in the absence of additional federal dollars or state approved borrowing authority.
“Today is the day that layoff notices were going to be sent out. Now our municipal labor unions have come to me in the last few days and asked for more time to see if they can resolve this issue. They have come in good faith, and I’ve worked very closely with municipal labor unions over the last 7 years, in partnership, and they’ve asked for an opportunity to ask the state legislature to reconvene immediately to address long-term borrowing,” de Blasio said at his daily press briefing. “I think it’s a fair request, but it’s one that has to be acted on very, very quickly.”
It is unclear if there’s a new deadline for when notices could go out. The mayor said the city will reassess the situation each day. “No one wants to see a single layoff, but we have to address our fiscal crisis,” de Blasio said. A spokesperson for the mayor said municipal unions were informed of this decision Monday morning.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city has been facing an ever-increasing budget gap that is only expected to widen over the next two fiscal years. City officials were hoping for another round of stimulus funds from the federal government to help plug the hole. When that did not happen, the conversation pivoted to Albany, where city officials were hoping Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature would approve borrowing authority for the city so it could cover the hole in its operating expenses.
So far, lawmakers are not scheduled to return to Albany.
“As we have said from the beginning we are willing to work with New York City to identify the best course forward without hurting working men and women and at the same time pursuing a fiscally responsible course,” said Senate Majority spokesperson Mike Murphy.
“As the Speaker has said, he is in favor of letting the city have the flexibility to meet its needs so it can deliver essential services and avoid laying off employees in the middle of a pandemic. We still have an expectation that the federal government - particularly Republicans, since our Democratic delegation in the House and Senate have been very clear about their support for the state - will realize this is a national pandemic which requires a national response. It shouldn't matter if a state is red, blue, or purple - all our communities need support,” said Michael Whyland, NY Assembly spokesperson.
Governor Cuomo’s office has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Last week, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Teachers Union president Michael Mulgrew wrote a joint op-ed in the NY Daily News urging state lawmakers to “throw NYC a lifeline” by approving borrowing authority.
“To deal with the massive shortfall we are facing, we have recommended the method the city relied on after 9/11 — the Transitional Finance Authority (TFA), which borrowed billions in the public markets for both operational and long-term spending made necessary by the terrorist attacks,” they wrote.
“This commitment would help keep up city services until the local economy — and local tax revenues — fully recover. Experts believe this could be at least two or three years, even if there is no major second wave of the virus,” they added.
Last week, Harry Nespoli, head of the city's Municipal Labor Council, an umbrella group representing some of the city's most powerful unions, said they sent a letter to the de Blasio administration suggesting other ways the city could find savings while averting layoffs. Nespoli said the city should consider dipping into its reserve funds, or offer early retirement to older workers. If nothing else, Nespoli said the city should wait to see if after the presidential election, a new administration might be more inclined to provide federal funding to the city.
“I want the guy in Washington to be on board with the guy in Albany, to be on board with the guy in the city of New York, that's what I want,” Nespoli told Gothamist/WNYC.
At the same time, some of the city’s largest unions are continuing their organizing to urge the administration to avoid layoffs at all costs. On Thursday, District Council 37 is planning a rally joined by City Comptroller Scott Stringer to call on the Mayor to suspend talk of layoffs.
This story has been updated with a statement from the NY State Assembly leader's office.
