October 22, 2007

Had Albany legislators consciously sought to run the state's public-sector labor costs up to unaffordable levels, they could hardly have done better than with this 40-year-old law. A new report from the Manhattan Institute' Empire Center for New York Policy recommends, inter alia, "rigorous community 'ability to pay' standard to guide arbitration panels towards more affordable contracts for police officers and firefighters, and elimination of the so-called 'Triborough amendment' that now requires continued payment of automatic salary 'step' increases even after a contract has expired." Coverage: NY Sun, Lawrence Levy @ Newsday, Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.