Monday, March 9, 2026, 1 p.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 2
Committee: Committee on Civil Service and Labor
The Committee on Civil Service and Labor, chaired by Council Member Shirley Aldebol, held a hearing on Introduction 692, sponsored by Council Member Carmen N. De La Rosa, which would provide $10,000 annual non-pensionable workforce stabilization payments to Department of Education paraprofessionals. Daniel Pollack, First Deputy Commissioner at the Office of Labor Relations, testified that the administration appreciates the bill's intent but opposes it as inconsistent with the Taylor Law's collective bargaining framework and preempted by state law. Council members pressed Pollack on the roughly 1,000+ paraprofessional vacancies, starting salaries around $32,000-$33,000, and the administration's lack of specific proposals or timeline. Union witnesses, including UFT President Michael Mulgrew and DC 37 Local 372 Executive Vice President Donald Nesbitt, argued pattern bargaining has failed the lowest-paid workers and urged passage of the bill. A parent, Julia Morales, testified by Zoom about her daughter's paraprofessional. No vote was taken.
0:14 Good morning good afternoon
0:14 and welcome to the New York
0:18 City committee on civil
0:19 service and
0:20 . Labor please place your
0:21 phone on silent mode thank you
0:24 for your cooperation
0:25 . She'll be all ready to beging
0:30 of the New York City Council's
0:32 committee on civil service and
0:34 labor I'm Council Member
0:36 charlie De ball chair of this
0:37 committee today we will be
0:40 considering introduction 692
0:42 sponsored by Council Member
0:42 Carmen De La Rosa which seeks
0:45 to address pay disparities for
0:47 power paraprofessionals within
0:48 the department of education
0:52 paraprofessionals are
0:53 essential to ensuring that our
0:55 schools are inclusive
0:57 supportive learning
0:57 environments for all students
0:58 they work one on one with
1:00 students with disabilities
1:02 assist teachers in managing
1:03 classrooms and often serve as
1:05 the critical link between
1:07 students families and schools
1:10 despite their importance
1:11 paraprofessionals
1:12 professionals have
1:12 historically been among the
1:14 lowest paid employees of the
1:16 doughy the starting salary for
1:18 power professionals is just
1:19 above $32000 a year well below
1:23 the estimated true cost of
1:24 ncityg I
1:27 . Paraprofessionals have have
1:28 testified that as a result of
1:30 low pay they struggled t
1:32 oafford food and rent and
1:34 sometimes work additional jobs n
1:38 acceptable status quo for
1:39 individuals who provide much
1:41 needed and structured
1:44 instructional behavioral and
1:45 physical support to students
1:46 and who play such a critical
1:47 role not only in the lives of
1:49 students in schools but in the
1:51 cities overall wellbeing with
1:54 Mayor mamdani and governor
1:55 hopeful's plan to strengthen
1:58 and expand universal three k
1:59 we expect an increase in the
2:03 demand for paraprofessionals
2:03 as soon as this fall.
2:06 As of February 2025 there
2:07 were over 1000 pound
2:10 professional vacancies and we
2:12 cannot risk letting this
2:12 shortage get any greater
2:14 . Today we'll hear from the
2:15 office of labor relations and
2:18 other stakeholders our goal at
2:19 this hearing is to take a
2:21 closer look at how to advance
2:23 pay equity so that
2:25 paraprofessionals are
2:25 adequately and properly
2:27 compensated we hope to gain a
2:29 better understanding of how
2:30 this legislation would ensure
2:32 that paraprofessionals who who
2:33 make our schools work every
2:35 day are treated fairly and
2:39 respectfully
2:39 . I'd like to thank bank
2:40 committee staff senior policy
2:42 analyst nina rosenberg senior
2:46 legislative counsel ri a o
2:50 hmaureen.
2:51 A market pat node for their
2:53 hard work in preparing for
2:55 this hearing I'd also like t
2:57 othank my chief of staff sophia
2:58 brown for all the work you do
3:00 for our district.
3:01 I would like to recognize
3:03 that we've been joined by
3:05 council members Frank Morano
3:08 Council Member Gennaro
3:11 . Council Member santos uso
3:13 . Council Member Narcisse and
3:15 Council Member De La Rosa.
3:17 On the alterna ll turnover
3:19 over to councilmember De La
3:21 Rosa for her opening statement
3:24 . Good afternoon and thank you
3:25 chair for your leadership and
3:26 to the committee for holding
3:28 today's hearing on intro 692
3:30 better known as the respect
3:32 check we introduced this bill
3:34 because behind every
3:34 successful classroom in our
3:35 City there are often powerful
3:38 professionals making that
3:40 learning possible.
3:40 There are these are the
3:42 workers who sit one on one
3:44 with students with
3:45 disabilities help children t
3:48 ocommunicate regulate and learn
3:49 and make sure every student
3:51 can fully participate in our
3:53 schools.
3:53 The reality is that people
3:55 doing this essential work are
3:57 among the lowest paid
3:57 employees in our school system k
4:00 paraprofessionals can learn as
4:01 low low as $32000 a year and
4:07 many experienced powered
4:07 professionals still make under
4:09 50000 annually in one of the
4:10 most expensive cities in the
4:12 country with large gaps in our
4:14 paraprofessional workforce the
4:16 consequences continue to grow
4:17 in our schools New York City
4:18 has faced thousands of
4:21 paraprofessional vacancies in
4:22 recent years leaving
4:23 classrooms without the support
4:24 that students are legally
4:25 entitled to and putting
4:26 additional strain on teachers
4:28 and school staff these gaps
4:30 also translate to lawsuits and
4:32 a revolving door of outside
4:34 contracting that cost the City
4:36 and the state hundreds of
4:37 millions of dollars the
4:39 respect check is about
4:41 stabilizing this workforce it
4:43 recognizes that although long
4:44 term compensation should
4:45 ultimately be addressed
4:46 through collective bargaining
4:47 our schools and our students
4:48 cannot wait while this
4:51 workforce remains in crisis
4:52 and while this crisis grows at
4:54 its core this legislation is
4:56 about dignity and recognition
4:58 if we believe that every child
4:59 deserves support in the
5:00 classroom that we must also
5:02 believe that workers providing
5:03 that support deserve wages
5:04 that allow them to live with
5:06 stability and respect in the
5:07 City where they serve
5:09 . I look forward to hearing
5:10 from paraprofessional
5:11 advocates and our agency
5:13 partners today about how we
5:14 can close this gap and build a
5:17 school system that truly
5:19 values people who make it run
5:20 thank you chair thank you well
5:24 . Well now here a a
5:28 representative from the um
5:30 office of liberal ations oh on
5:36 hold on I'll turn to mis
5:41 srosenberg to administer the
5:42 oath for this panel of this
5:45 individual would you please
5:46 raise your right hand do you
5:48 afor to tell the truth the
5:49 whole truth and nothing but
5:50 the truth before this
5:51 committee and to respond
5:52 honestly to Council Member
5:54 questions yes thank you ah
5:56 good afternoon chair elder ble
5:58 members of the civil service
5:59 and labor committee I'm daniel
6:02 pollack first deputy.
6:03 Commissioner at the office
6:04 of labor relations thank you
6:05 for this opportunity t
6:07 otestify today on in truth 6
6:09 900 to establishing a New
6:11 workforce stabilization
6:12 payment for paraprofessional
6:14 employees employed by the
6:15 department of education
6:17 insured 6 90 would require the
6:18 dough to provide eligible
6:20 school paraprofessionals
6:21 . With annual non pensionable
6:23 workforce stabilization
6:24 payments of $10000 the payment
6:26 will be provided to a lump sum
6:27 and would be suffered a
6:30 desperation.
6:30 Under the legislation the
6:32 requirement for this payment
6:33 would be deemed repealed upon
6:35 execution of a collective
6:36 bargaining agreement
6:37 . That increases the total
6:38 annual compensation of
6:40 paraprofessionals by amount
6:41 equal or greater to the
6:43 proposed workforce
6:44 stabilization payment this
6:46 legislation is an updated
6:47 version of intro 1261 which
6:49 similarly sought to create a
6:50 payment for department of
6:52 education paraprofessionals
6:53 . So I'd like to start by
6:54 saying that the administration
6:55 fully appreciates the intent
6:57 behind this bill
6:58 paraprofessionals
6:59 professionals work every day
7:01 alongside other New York City
7:02 public school staff to help
7:04 educate our children and we
7:06 understand the motivation
7:07 behind efforts to provide them
7:10 with increased compensation
7:11 however we have significant
7:13 legal practical and fairness
7:14 concerns with an approach that
7:15 would provide a substantial
7:16 pay increase frey's employees
7:18 through local legislation this
7:20 bill like it's predecessor is
7:22 inconsistent with state law
7:24 governing collective
7:24 bargaining in the public
7:26 sector since 19 67 the City
7:28 has been obligated under the
7:29 New York state public
7:31 employees fair employment act
7:32 known as the taylor law to
7:34 bargain wage rates with
7:35 municipal unions the parents
7:37 contemplated by this
7:38 legislation like other pay
7:39 items in terms of conditions
7:42 of employment are mandatory
7:43 yeah excuse me are mandatory
7:44 subject of collective
7:45 bargaining under the taylor
7:47 law and therefore must be
7:49 negotiated between the City
7:50 and the department of
7:50 education and the union
7:53 representing these members
7:54 these benefits do not be
7:55 imposed by local law then
7:57 you're court of appeals made
7:59 this principle clear in Mayor
8:00 of the City of New York versus
8:02 council of the City of New
8:02 York the 2007 case stating
8:05 that the taylor law prohibits
8:06 local legislative bodies from
8:08 usurping the executive's
8:09 prerogative to agree with
8:10 unions on terms and conditions
8:14 of employment separately the
8:15 proposed bill is preempted by
8:17 state law because it would
8:19 serve the authority of the
8:21 over personnel matters
8:22 involving do employees beyond
8:25 the legal concerns we believe
8:26 collective bargaining process
8:30 and turn the rights of both
8:31 the City as an employer and
8:33 the unions that represent
8:34 their members the City has a
8:36 hundred 50 collective
8:37 bargaining units represented
8:38 by almost a hundred different
8:41 unions
8:41 . Both the City and its the
8:42 ins must have confidence that
8:44 when an agreement is reached
8:45 it's terms will govern its
8:49 compensation changes in other
8:50 terms of conditions of
8:51 employment could be changed
8:52 through legislation outside of
8:54 the bargaining process why
8:55 makes a deal at all so they
8:57 would be unable to budget
8:58 responsibly if the wage
9:00 increases.
9:00 Established in collective
9:02 bargaining agreements were not
9:03 the final compensation
9:06 obligations similarly unions
9:07 would have less confidence in
9:07 the agreements they negotiated
9:10 or equitable
9:10 . Relative to those reached by
9:13 other unions knowing the
9:13 additional compensation for
9:14 later be obtained through
9:15 legislation outside the
9:17 bargaining process
9:17 . This isn't a theoretical
9:19 concern in the most recent
9:21 round of bargaining or the
9:23 City reached agreements with
9:24 unions representing 98.5% of
9:26 City workforce covering
9:28 approximately 350000 employees
9:32 addressing paraprofessional
9:33 pay through legislation
9:34 outside of that bargaining
9:35 process would be unfair to the
9:36 many unions that sell their
9:37 contracts with the
9:39 understanding of the
9:39 established pattern would
9:42 govern
9:42 . Many of whom used funding
9:44 available in those agreements
9:46 to fund targeted wage
9:47 increases for certain titles
9:49 . It would also be unfair t
9:50 oall the City workers who
9:51 performed difficult valuable
9:52 work but did not receive this
9:54 extra payment outside the
9:57 bargaining process some argue
9:58 that pattern bargaining
9:59 prevents low paid workers from
10:01 receiving fair increases but
10:02 history shows us that the
10:03 pattern can be pattern
10:05 bargaining can be flexible and
10:06 can be used to address those
10:07 issues over many years ole r
10:09 has worked with unions to find
10:11 flexibility within each
10:12 bargaining rounds pattern t
10:13 oaddress specific titles in the
10:15 last round we had concert
10:17 called the the fund which
10:18 created funding that could be
10:20 used for a specific
10:23 recruitment retention issues
10:24 or other issues related
10:27 compensation for example
10:28 district council 37 used this
10:29 funding to provide additional
10:32 increases for title facing
10:33 recruitment and retention
10:34 challenges including 9 11
10:36 operators lifeguards and other
10:38 titles well are remains ready
10:39 to work with the uft to use
10:41 funding within a collective
10:43 bargaining agreement t
10:44 oincrease compensation for
10:46 paraprofessionals while the
10:47 bill characterizes this
10:47 payment as separate from
10:50 collective bargaining and
10:50 states it does not affect
10:53 collective bargaining
10:53 bargaining rights cannot do so
10:55 simply by declaring it
10:57 payments to employees are
10:59 compensation determine
10:59 condition of employment under
11:00 the taylor law and therefore
11:02 must be negotiated between the
11:03 employer and the union
11:04 representing those employees
11:06 no one would argue that
11:08 legislation reducing
11:10 compensation or eliminating
11:14 benefits secured through
11:14 barton and would be consistent
11:15 with the bargaining process
11:17 the same principle applies
11:19 here thank you for the
11:21 opportunity to testify and I
11:22 will just any questions you
11:25 might have
11:25 . Thank you for your testimony
11:28 Council Member do you have any
11:30 questions before you
11:30 . Have to I do thank you thank
11:34 you deputy commissioner not
11:35 only for your testimony but I
11:37 appreciate the administration
11:39 acknowledging the important
11:42 role that paraprofessionals
11:42 play in our schools it was
11:43 just out of school this
11:44 morning and I could see how
11:47 hard all these paras are
11:48 working we hear constantly
11:51 about recruitment and
11:53 retention challenges in these
11:55 positions from the
11:57 administration's perspective
11:58 how serious is the current
12:01 staffing shortage for
12:02 paraprofessionals in New York
12:03 City schools the chair
12:05 indicated there were over a
12:08 thousand vacancies for paris
12:08 is that what you're seeing is
12:10 it more is it less
12:12 . Thank you for the question
12:13 councilmember member my from
12:16 doe is that and that's about
12:18 right you know maybe a little
12:18 more than a thousand but you
12:20 know my understanding is there
12:21 are approximately 25000 full
12:22 time para professionals and
12:23 you know a little over a
12:28 thousand
12:29 . The administration's main
12:31 defense here seems that the
12:34 council can't legislate
12:34 compensation and this is very
12:35 familiar to me because I have
12:37 another bill that wants t
12:39 ogive City workers a day off if
12:40 they donate an organ and
12:42 they're mounting a similar
12:44 objection and it is a little
12:46 frustrating but I'm very
12:48 attuned to the argument for
12:50 that reason you argue that
12:53 this legislation conflicts
12:54 with the taylor law because
12:57 compensation is a mandatory
12:58 subject of bargaining is it
13:00 your position that the City
13:02 council has no ability
13:04 whatsoever to establish
13:07 compensation policies
13:08 affecting municipal employees
13:10 through legislation
13:11 . Yes councilmember that is