With the possibility of massive municipal layoffs looming, Mayor de Blasio suggested Tuesday he’s open to freezing or reducing worker pay — and that union leaders are too, but only as a last resort.
“Those are fair ideas,” he said at a morning press briefing.
De Blasio repeated his recent mantra that additional federal relief funding or authorization from the state government to borrow are his preferred options to dull the pain of layoffs, but noted that union leaders have suggested an openness to other options if federal and state intervention fall through.
Such options could include pay freezes or reductions for city workers, furloughs, early retirement incentives and concessions on health insurance premiums.
“By and large, those are the kinds of things you can only do through collective bargaining,” he said, referring specifically to pay freezes and reductions. “The way the laws are set up in this state, in this city, the city has the authority to lay off workers directly, but not to do things like the furloughs, for example.”
Still, he noted that “a lot of unions, if there’s no other choice, would be receptive to that.”
Greg Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237, which represents 24,000 city workers, said he is, in fact, not receptive to the idea.
“I don’t know who he’s talking to,” Floyd said. “I don’t plan on freezing salaries or reducing salaries.”
De Blasio did point to a glimmer of hope for his plan to secure state approval for long-term borrowing, though: The City Council is expected to vote on a resolution this week that would support such a move.
“That is the cleanest, fastest way to avert the layoffs,” de Blasio said.
Fiscal conservatives disagree and have argued that such borrowing could unnecessarily saddle the city with debt for years to come.
