NEW YORK - Mayor Bill de Blasio delayed laying off about 22,000 city workers so that municipal unions could lobby Albany for help, he announced Monday morning.
"We will hold but it will be on a day to day basis," de Blasio said. "We'll do the work together to do the work to convince Albany we need them."
De Blasio granted municipal unions limited time to pressure Albany lawmakers to grant New York City, which faces a $9 billion deficit, the power to borrow.
The mayor declined to say when he'd send out the 30-day notices but said they would be necessary without immediate approval to borrow $5 billion.
"Unfortunately, the layoff notices are ready to be printed," de Blasio said. "It would be horrible for this city."
De Blasio for months has been pleading for federal stimulus funds or permission from the state government to borrow, thus far, without success.
Workers in all city agencies expected Monday layoff notifications that would take effect on October 1.
"Time has been ticking," de Blasio said. "And there has been no resolution."
“We have to see some real proof quickly, that the legislature is willing to come back,” de Blasio said. “That will determine how we handle the next steps.”
But labor leaders say they’ve been waiting for months to meet with the mayor and talk about this issue and discuss alternatives.
Gregory Floyd represents about 24,000 city employees as president of Teamsters Local 237. He said he and other union leaders will meet with the de Blasio administration Tuesday so they can find other ways to avoid the layoffs. One of the options could be to create incentives for early retirement.
“I expect the city to listen to some of the ideas we are going to present to them, and I expect us to have a committee working towards those ideas to see if we can achieve the goals of the city,” Floyd said.
So far, there’s no date for the state legislature to reconvene, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo is not keen on the idea of giving the City borrowing authority. Critics point to the years of pain inflicted on New York in the 1970s when unchecked borrowing sent the city into a fiscal crisis.
“All these discussions could have been kept quiet until you find out what you needed. The first time we found out layoffs were going to happen was through the media,” Floyd said.
At the same time, Cuomo and labor leaders sent a letter to Congress requesting $59 billion to address what they called “catastrophic budget shortfalls” resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. But many observers say there may be no such help from Congress unless Democrats regain the White House and Senate in November.
During his press briefing, the mayor also updated New Yorkers on plans to reopen public schools in less than two weeks.
The city's ventilation task force has inspected 1,321 school buildings and 247 had been approved to conduct outdoor learning, de Blasio said.
The mayor also stood firm on a safety measure repeatedly requested by the United Federation of Teachers but not included in the reopening plan: mandatory novel coronavirus testing.
"The important thing here is to put together a variety of measures," de Blasio said. "That to me is the best way to get it done."
De Blasio also told restaurant owners not to expect indoor dining until next spring, when he hopes a COVID-19 vaccine will become available.
"It would take a huge step forward to get to that point," de Blasio said. "So far we have not had that moment."
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