New York's Shrinking Workforce

            As the “Great Recession” continues to affect our state, it is becoming increasingly apparent that we will soon have to face life with a potentially much smaller state workforce.

The issue is particularly prominent this year, as negotiations with the Public Employees Federation (PEF) dominated Governor Cuomo’s attention.  During the hard bargaining, (inspired in no small part by the state’s $10 billion dollar budget gap) 3,496 positions were identified as being vulnerable to elimination, a result of PEF’s member rejection of the proposed five year contract.  While the result may not be that severe, the hard fact is that sooner, rather than later, the number of individuals in state government service will begin to decrease. Certainly, it is unlikely that all of the record-setting 30,772 state employees who retired last year will be replaced.

One of the most tenacious issues affecting Albany’s payroll is the continued existence of the Triborough Amendment.  In 1967, the “Public Employees Fair Employment Act,” known popularly as the Taylor Law, was enacted. It required Albany to negotiate with unions, and prohibited public employees from striking, imposing severe penalties for doing so.  It was one of the first statutes in America to comprehensively address the rights and obligations of state employees. 

The strong penalties mandated for illegal strikes were rarely enforced. At various times, corrections officers, transit workers and others engaged in strikes and job actions. An attempt at labor peace was made in 1982 with the passage of the Triborough Amendment, which prohibited the State Government from changing any provision of expired contracts until a replacement was agreed to. The concept seemed, at first, reasonable. While unions still lacked the legal right to strike, they did have the security of being protected by the provisions of an agreement that was fairly recently acceptable.  It provided automatic pay increases for salary or longevity step schedule hikes, even after contracts establishing them had expired, unless there was a new agreement. Further, in an era when all employees are being asked to contribute more to their own health insurance, Triborough provides an avenue for public employees to reject the state government’s attempts to ask public employees to do the same. Governor Cuomo’s mandate relief study team, (including Deputy Westchester County Executive Larry Schwartz) is reviewing the Triborough Amendment. Westchester Assemblyman Robert Castelli introduced a bill to repeal this provision during the recent legislative session.

In practice, Triborough contains a serious flaw.  During times of downturns, such as in today’s harsh economic climate, the state lacks the funds to offer new contracts with more attractive terms to unions, and may even be forced to request give-backs. Under the provisions of the Triborough Amendment, unions have no incentive to replace an expired but still effective agreement with one that is less attractive.

The end result is that Albany has few options, other than reducing its workforce by layoffs or by not replacing retiring employees. New Yorkers will have to endure reduced service while this dilemma continues to produce acrimony between the state government and those who staff its agencies.