What the Politics of “Paras” Tells Us About Mamdani, Menin, and Mulgrew
“Paras” – that’s short for Paraprofessionals, who mostly work either alongside teachers in a classroom or are assigned to aid specific students with disabilities in the New York City school system, and are represented by the United Federation of Teachers – are one of the most abused groups of public employees. Incredibly, entry-level Paras make $32,000 per year. Most Paras – there are almost 30,000 of them – make between $37,000 - $39,000 per year. Unlike teachers, who mostly start at a minimum of $80,000 (depending on educational qualifications), Paras do not get the annual “step” increases based on years of service and accumulated skill that can eventually almost double a teacher’s first-year salary. $39,000 – that’s it. And Paras have fewer protections against being fired than their teacher colleagues
While a union should prioritize the needs of its most victimized members, traditionally, the UFT leadership has ignored the particular issues of its smaller titles – Paras, Occupational and Physical Therapists, School Nurses, School Secretaries, etc. – when it negotiates contracts. Not that Teachers have done so well in the last twenty or thirty years themselves, but the leadership’s attention is focused on getting re-elected, and that means Teachers first. Paras’ scandalously low salary has never been a must-have item for the UFT leadership and president Michael Mulgrew.
However, all of a sudden last year – I’ll explain why below – the UFT launched a campaign to get the NY City Council to increase salaries by $10,000. That went nowhere, but this year, the UFT succeeded in getting the support of City Council Speaker Julie Menin for a one-time $10,000 payment to Paras, and last week, a bill to that effect was passed unanimously.
But Mayor Mamdani has argued that it is illegal for the Council to allocate money to improve public workers’ wages (or benefits) – that all money issues must be collectively bargained. “The Council’s passage of this legislation is in direct violation of the Taylor Law,” he says. There is some discussion that the City’s lawyers will challenge this legislation in court.
So, What is Behind the Motivations of…
Mulgrew
As explained and itemized in this article by Educators of New York City, in the most recent contract round, Mulgrew made various concessions that gave him $450 million to allocate as he saw fit, above and beyond the “pattern” raise that all city workers received. Mulgrew could have allocated it to increase Para salaries. Instead, he used most of that money to give an additional $1000 to each member. I think this EoNYC image really sums up the UFT’s “Teacher’s first” decision:
So, what has changed? After basically unchallenged control of the UFT for 65 years, recently Mulgrew’s Unity Caucus has been uneasy on the throne. In the most recent round of Retiree and Paraprofessional Chapter elections, opposition slates beat the Unity Caucus candidates easily. Then, last spring, UFT president Michael Mulgrew, running for re-election, only received 53% of the vote. (In my view, if the two opposing slates had united and run a single slate, the synergy of that unity would have been enough to topple Mulgrew.)
So, all of a sudden, Mulgrew needed to urgently appease and conciliate embittered members. Going around collective bargaining allowed UFT to get money outside the “pattern” and preserves his ability to continue to put Teachers first in the next contract round. And fortunately for him, he found an ally…
Menin
This is actually quite simple. Although the next Mayoral election is not until 2029, Menin has effectively launched her campaign. Institutionally, she is a centrist Democrat, (and a personally wealthy one at that, with a $22 million Hamptons mansion among other assets). She opposed Mamdani’s “tax the rich” advocacy, and will certainly receive the support of the powerful finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) interests, alongside those who claim Mamdani is an anti-semite. But she will also want to posture as the “caring” candidate as against Mamdani the grinch. So, this year, besides this bill (which puts UFT in her camp), she also demanded Mamdani allocate more money for housing vouchers for the homeless.
This is not wholly unusual. For example, the Mayor and the City Council traditionally do a dance at budget time, where the Council adds incremental money to the City’s budget, allowing individual Councilpeople to take credit, for example, for keeping libraries open on the weekends. What is unusual is how early in the election cycle Menin is clearing the way for 2029 by establishing herself as the main antagonist to…
Mamdani
This is the interesting piece – what this power struggle reveals about our socialist Mayor’s view on the part of the city’s working class that works for him.
Let’s give Mamdani some six-month grades.
On communications, clearly an A+. The way he teased out the ‘why Netanyahu should be arrested (although I can’t do it),’ with its 81 million views was just a typical masterstroke.
On supporting democratic socialist efforts, an A. Note that he didn’t do endorsements on state legislative races, where (for example) he might have helped Conrad Blackburn beat Jordan Wright in Harlem. But his support for Darializa Chevalier was probably decisive. And I bet her volunteers used his lists, and so already knew exactly which doors to knock on.
On affordability, an A-, combining what he’s been able to achieve (like freeze the rent), with effort on the where he’s constrained. I’m ambivalent about the promoting the deal he reached with Hochul on childcare – which gives us full 2-K, but nothing for younger children, by 2029 – as meriting a victory lap.
On ‘tax the rich,’ a B- (not his fault, but no real progress), with the proviso that some people believe that he can raise this grade next year, after the Gubernatorial election.
On improving “efficiency,” let’s say B+/Incomplete – so far, so good on intentions, but the proof will be in the pudding. I’ll be a true believer when I see all those private contractors responsible for so much of the infrastructure work in parks and on roadways held to their completion dates - or a concerted effort to move much of this work to public employees.
On support for private sector labor, A-/Incomplete. This should be easy, because a lot of this is moral support. The harder part is actual legislation and rule-making. Mamdani told the New York Times he wanted ‘to spend his political capital,’ so let’s see how hard he pushes for the Delivery Protection Act, which will make all those Amazon delivery drivers actual Amazon employees, thus facilitating union organizing. Amazon has already spent millions lobbying against its passage. Let’s see what Lina Khan does for workers, as opposed to consumers (affordability).
On public sector workforce, a D.
Now, let’s be fair to Mamdani. He has to live within his budget. If he chose to shower public workers with money, then that’s money that can’t be spent on reducing class sizes, or building playgrounds, or subsidizing affordable housing. Even after we have real socialism, those tensions will continue to exist.
But what I hoped Mamdani would do is to quickly fix outstanding inequities. The gross underpay of Paras. The gross underpay of Emergency Medical Techs. I want him to put his thumb on the scale for job security for CUNY Adjuncts.
I wanted – and want – him to tell the Office of Labor Relations (OLR) – where he reappointed the same commissioner who’s been in that office since Bloomberg (ugh) – that her job is to fix problems, not stonewall. I want him to tell agency commissioners that part of “efficiency” is mandatory discussions with workplace-level union reps. That they will be graded and assessed on their ability to reach mutually agreeable solutions to problems – worker problems as well as agency ones.
Instead, the City’s labor relations seem like business as usual. I was not wholly dismayed when he answered my question in April about collaborative bargaining by saying ‘I need to talk to my people about that.’ That’s was not an illegitimate answer, although a socialist should have labor questions at the top of their list of issues to address. But who did he talk to - the same OLR that is the problem? Three months later, while we don’t have enough Health Department Water Ecologists to address Legionnaire’s disease, DC37 Local 3005, which represents these workers, has been unable to bring its proposals to speed recruitment and hiring to the bargaining table. There’s plenty of blame to go around; DC37 head Henry Garrido’s at fault too. But even if Local 3005 gets to the bargaining table, it will be talking to OLR’s nickel-and-dimers, not the agency which (presumably) has an interest in solving the problem. That’s wrong, and it’s symbolic of a larger problem.
One of the great victories of neoliberalism is that it made Americans think of themselves as consumers, not workers. And so we value those low Amazon and Walmart prices, rather than stand in solidarity with oppressed workers. I want more from my socialist Mayor, especially on an issue where he has no constraints. Yes, help the working class by fixing affordability (consumers). And help it too by creating, and showcasing, a different type of “labor-management” relationship, in which workers’ views matter.
Links:
To join a reading group discussing Jane McAlevey’s No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age, and beginning on August 5, click on this link. “McAlevy argues that there is no substitute for on the ground, one-on-one style organizing deployed by (mostly) communist organizers in the CIO in the 1930s and used to great effect by 1199 SEIU NE in this century. She provides several case studies to illustrate this form of organizing. As we move through the book we will discuss McAlevey’s thesis as it pertains to her examples, current organizing and political efforts by reading group participants, and how to apply McAlevey’s to organizing in and outside of DSA.”
For $25, you can get on a bus to Chicago (and back) next weekend, Thu, Jul 30, 6:00 PM EDT - Sun, Aug 2, 9:30 PM to join the National March into Marquette Park, commemorating the 60th anniversary of Dr. King’s Chicago campaign for economic justice, and raising demands for “freedom from mass criminalization and detention, full protection of voting rights, and a future rooted in dignity, justice, and shared humanity.”
This is Not What Democracy Looks Like: The AFT Convention and the Future of the US Labor Movement
The Mummification of the AFL-CIO. I wrote about the AFL-CIO Convention before it happened. Here’s a report from the convention floor.
Last week, I wrote about dangers to a fair election in November, but I forgot to mention the SAVE Act.
On resistance to fascism, When Norwegian Teachers Defied Hitler.