The massive lawsuit against a surprising target: Zohran Mamdani is setting New York on fire again
The Mayor of New York has filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the bonuses received by education system employees with low wages | The full story
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani filed an unprecedented lawsuit yesterday, Wednesday, against the City Council, claiming that the new law granting fat bonuses to education system employees who earn low wages violates collective bargaining laws. According to a report in the "New York Times", the decision to sue came on the same day the council's bill went into effect, after the mayor refrained from vetoing it, knowing the council had the majority needed to override him.
The lawsuit, filed in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, sets the stage for the mayor's biggest media and political battle yet against a public sector labor union. The move is expected to further sour Mamdani's already tense relationship with City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who led and promoted the legislation. On the other hand, a spokesperson for the city claimed that the move was actually intended to protect workers' rights.
"We will not allow the political process to replace the collective bargaining table," said spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach.
The law at the center of the storm, which is supported by the influential "United Federation of Teachers", is supposed to grant $10,000 bonuses to teaching assistants in New York. These are teams that usually work one-on-one with children with disabilities, and are among the lowest-paid employees in the city's public education system, with a starting salary of only about $32,000 a year for each of the 26,000 assistants.
Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump (Photo: The White House)
The irony in the story is particularly striking. Mamdani, a democratic socialist closely identified with labor unions, supported the bonuses during his election campaign, but backtracked after being elected to the position. Mamdani, who promised to make the city more affordable, finds himself fighting the teachers' union and working to block grants for low-income workers. On the other hand, Council Speaker Menin, who usually presents herself as a more economically moderate figure, is pushing for legislation estimated to cost $325 million.
Opponents, including veteran city advisors, warn that this is a dangerous bypass that could lead to anarchy. To illustrate the danger, they point to a council member who has already used the law as justification for her demand to raise the wages of emergency medical teams in the fire department, some of whom earn a meager sum of $18 an hour. Robert W. Linn, who has advised the city in the past and present, emphasized to the "New York Times" that there are about 150 bargaining units in the city:
"If there is no strict approach, the parties will run to the City Council and start strikes. There is potential to return to the chaos of the 60s."
Despite the legal ambiguity, teachers' union president Michael Mulgrew has already declared victory and promised that the first installment of the bonus will be paid in January.
"The city's claim that it is suing to protect the workers is a joke. These are the lowest-paid workers in my union, most of them black and Hispanic women, and you are trying to prevent them from getting this check. Good luck with that."
