Posts tagged New York City
Opinion: I was NYC’s first female lifeguard chief. Here’s a way to save lives.
August 10, 2026 // For nearly two decades, the roles of citywide lifeguard coordinator and president of the city’s lifeguard supervisors’ union were held by one man, Peter Stein. During my time as a chief lifeguard, I watched as Stein abused his privileges and retaliated against those who opposed him, all while the Parks Department turned a blind eye. Last year, Stein finally retired — and the city has a chance to fix what has gone wrong.
5 largest healthcare strikes in 2026, involving 76,000 workers
August 7, 2026 // Healthcare strikes in 2026 have drawn in tens of thousands of workers across hospitals, health systems and home care settings, with disputes centering on wages, staffing and contract terms. Becker’s has tracked 17 strikes so far this year.
Hochul Extends Program to Hire Government Workers Faster. Mamdani Opts Out.
July 9, 2026 // But opting into NY HELPS could risk blowback from city unions like DC37 and the United Federation of Teachers, which are generally allied with the pro-labor mayor and were among the unions that sued to block Adams’s attempt. “We have thousands of workers already on the civil service list who have taken the exams, who have gone through the process of paying the fee, who have taken all the necessary requirements to qualify,” DC37 executive director Henry Garrido said of NY HELPS at an April City Council hearing. “It’s not fair to those people who have done so.”
New constitution, 32-hour workweek, noncitizen voting: What’s in the DSA platform
July 7, 2026 // The Democratic Socialists of America platform calls for ambitious reforms, including the adoption of a new constitution and allowing noncitizens to vote, according to its program for 2025 and 2026. Socialists have been on the rise after candidates such as Melat Kiros and Darializa Avila Chevalier beat longtime Democratic incumbents and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated the Democratic establishment in last year's mayoral race.
SQ 832 gets final push from socialists before election
June 17, 2026 // State Question 832 would more than double Oklahoma’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2029 and then continue increasing it every year based on increases in the cost-of-living in the nation’s largest urban centers, as measured by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). That would effectively tie Oklahoma’s wage mandate to the cost of living in places like New York City or San Francisco, where it far exceeds Oklahoma norms, particularly in rural communities.
Opinion: How a century-old railway law sows modern transit havoc
June 4, 2026 // As private commuter rail operations went bust over time and became absorbed by state agencies such as New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, they still mostly remained under RLA jurisdiction. This peculiarity has proven disastrous. Ordinary economic constraints no longer apply to union negotiations. The need to remain profitable is gone, and with it the danger that management would order a lockout in the middle of a contract dispute. But the right to strike has remained. It gives the unions license to make unreasonable demands, knowing that the people on the other side of the table could squeeze taxpayers and riders for more money.
More than 100 Oklahoma lawmakers oppose SQ 832
June 1, 2026 // Under SQ 832, after the minimum wage is more than doubled, the mandate would continue to grow at a rapid annual pace based on increases in the cost of living in the nation’s largest urban centers, as measured by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. That would effectively tie Oklahoma’s wage mandate to the cost of living in places like New York City or San Francisco. As a result, while SQ 832 would initially mandate that entry-level jobs pay $15 an hour in 2029, an analysis by The State Chamber of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Farm Bureau found SQ 832 would put Oklahoma’s minimum wage on a fast track to $35.61 per hour and continue rising thereafter.
Commentary: The Blue-State Delusion Over Unions
May 31, 2026 // Salaries at the Long Island Rail Road—a commuter-train system that connects suburban residents to New York City—now average $121,646, which is 50 percent more than the median household income in New York City ($80,483). Work rules entitle engineers to double or even triple pay when they drive different types of trains on the same day or when they deliver a train to the maintenance yard after driving passengers. Last year, more than 300 LIRR workers each earned $100,000 in overtime—in addition to their base pay. Those extra wages in turn inflate their pensions, which they can take at the age of 55 after 30 years of service. All of this is as good for union members as it is unimaginable for most American workers. But taxpayers and commuters are the ones who pay for those generous compensation packages, and it’s reasonable to wonder whether they are getting a fair deal.
Commentary: Mamdani Misreads What Gig Workers Want
May 21, 2026 // Arranged scheduling cuts directly against what gig workers value most: flexibility. More than 60 percent cite it as the main reason they chose this work, and few are interested in traditional, prescheduled jobs. They’re also more concerned about the lack of benefits than about wage rates. These realities underscore the wrongheadedness of Mamdani’s anti-gig campaign. A better approach would preserve flexible hours while expanding access to benefits. One promising model is a portable benefits system, in which workers and companies contribute to SEP IRA–style accounts that can be used to purchase health insurance, paid leave, or retirement plans. Numerous states—red and blue alike, from Tennessee to Maryland to Pennsylvania—have enacted portable-benefits systems for gig workers in recent years.
New York City Unions Keep Winning Six-Figure Salaries
May 21, 2026 // Business owners say the wage increases will raise prices for consumers, with higher hotel bills and healthcare costs. In its negotiations, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority argued that the wage increases that Long Island Rail Road unions were asking for would lead to higher fares or increased borrowing. Labor economists and union supporters said union victories in New York City could be hard to replicate elsewhere, but across the country unions have been flexing a bit more muscle in recent years. And other workers, struggling to keep up with rising costs, could take notice.