New York City’s powerful teachers union is looking to boost pay for some special-education staffers without the Adams administration’s OK.
On Thursday, the United Federation of Teachers joined about a dozen City Council members outside City Hall to announce a bill that would send roughly $10,000 checks annually to full-time paraprofessionals, who support students with disabilities on school buses and in classrooms.
During negotiations, the city’s mayors historically have a longstanding practice of reaching a deal with one union, which then sets a pattern for pay increases in all other contracts in that same round of bargaining. Because paraprofessionals’ wages are among the lowest in the school system, raises through that process — known as “pattern bargaining” — have little impact on their earnings.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew acknowledged the legislation — which, if enacted, could undermine the mayor’s position at the bargaining table — was unprecedented in New York City.
“But the issue now has become we’re in a crisis and, even if we can hire paraprofessional, they’re not staying because of the pay,” Mulgrew said at a press conference before a hearing on special education.
“And so, if we have to put pattern bargaining on trial, we’ll do that,” he added. “Because this is out of control.”
Paraprofessionals earn between $31,787 and $52,847 in the city’s public school system, according to the UFT. Currently, pattern bargaining sets raises at around 3% or $900 each year for a first-time teaching assistant.
There are close to 1,600 vacancies for paraprofessionals, a member survey found — which the union blamed on low wages, resulting in challenges with hiring and retention.
Meanwhile, as the empty positions persist, children with disabilities are suffering the consequences. A shortage of teaching assistants means that students are losing access to critical services required by federal law — or stuck at home unable to attend classes.
According to the UFT survey, nearly seven in 10 specialized public schools serving students with the most intensive needs do not provide regular coverage for absent paraprofessionals.
“You hear that students don’t have routes because they don’t have many paraprofessionals to travel to and from school with them, which is legally mandated,” said Councilwoman Rita Joseph (D-Brooklyn), the chairperson of the education committee. That leaves parents responsible for getting their children to school or else missing out on their education.
A representative for Mayor Adams said he provided wage increases and benefits to paraprofessionals and other UFT members during this round of collective bargaining.
The current contract does not expire until late 2027. The Adams administration shut down discussing pay raises or any other economic issues until then — and pointed to Mulgrew’s own support of the contract when it was approved a year and a half ago.
“We look forward to discussing all of the union’s economic demands in the next round of collective bargaining,” said Allison Maser, a spokeswoman for the mayor.
Mulgrew and the Council’s joint show of force comes as Adams has been shoring up support with unions ahead of his reelection bid, despite battling an unknown illness that kept him on a limited public schedule this week. The mayor is facing criminal allegations that he took bribes and illegal campaign funds from Turkish government operatives, which could impact his primary prospects.
Mulgrew, the UFT president, faces a competitive election himself over the next several months after losing the support of some retirees over a push to shift former city workers onto privatized healthcare. At least two major challengers to his Unity caucus — the Alliance of Retired and In-Service Educators and A Better Contract — have seized on low paraprofessional pay as part of their platforms.
Joseph is expected to sponsor the bill with Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa (D-Manhattan), who chairs the labor committee, her office said. The legislation, which would grow the paychecks over time but would not be pensionable, will be formally introduced in the coming weeks.