Here in New York, there has been some discussion from the far right and their corporate lackeys in government (read: Andrew Cuomo through his senior advisor Larry Schwartz) and corporate lobbying groups (read: Committee to Save New York [for Corporations]) to repeal or "selectively" enforce New York's Triborough Amendment.
If you were to read stories in papers such as the Times Union or any of the far right, conservative or anti-labor/pro-corporation blogs, you would be left with the conclusion that the Triborough Amendment is a law that was passed to, somehow, make public sector employees a (as Koch-brother-supported autocrats like Governors Walker (WI) and Daniels (IN) say) "privileged" class. Quite to the contrary, the Triborough Amendment levels out a profoundly skewed playing field created by New York's Taylor Law
The Taylor Law, basically, establishes the right for public sector employees to organize and have Union representation. Think of it as New York's version of the Taft-Hartley Law.
However, the very same law prevents public employees and civil servants from exercising something their private industry counterparts can -- the ability to strike. Section 210 of the Taylor Law clearly states, "No public employee or employee organization shall engage in a strike, and no public employee or employee organization shall cause, instigate, encourage, or condone a strike." In case you missed it in high school Social Studies class, the strike is Labor's last recourse against abusive management.
Taking away the right to strike (on a legal level) effectively made Civil Servants and Public Employees a kind of indentured servant. Maybe that is a little hyperbolic but there was nothing that really could be done if management treated Labor poorly. Civil Servants could quit but what good would that do the State in the long run? If the State wants to attract quality employees away from the private sector, this is not the way to manage their employees. Generally speaking, the Government does not pay as well as the private sector when comparable jobs are examined side by side. While many public employees are willing to take the decrease in pay in exchange for a reliable pension and benefits, and many work in the civil sector in the interest of helping their fellow citizens, almost all are unwilling to do so if there is no protection of their rights. The Triborough Amendment aims to help protect those rights.
Section 209-a, subsection e of the Taylor Law states:
...to refuse to continue all the terms of an expired agreement until a new agreement is negotiated, unless the employee organization which is a party to such agreement has, during such negotiations or prior to such resolution of such negotiations, engaged in conduct violative of subdivision one of section two hundred ten of this article.
This is the Triborough Amendment Big Business and the Koches of the world have set their sights on. What this section is saying is that the contract settled on by Executive Branch and voted on by the Union membership will remain in effect even if the old contract expires and a new one is not negotiated to fill its place unless the Union strikes. Previous to this amendment, a Governor could refuse to negotiate, allow a contract to expire, and then do what ever the hell he felt like (I say "he" because New York has yet to have a woman Governor). Hardly fair when you are the head of the State and dealing with people who can not strike.
So now you can see why corporations want Cuomo to repeal, erase, or "selectively enforce" the Triborough Amendment -- to undermine the Unions and force a Big Business agenda down the throats of honest, hard-working, tax-paying New Yorkers. To hell with the fact those honest, hard-working, tax-paying New Yorkers are Public Employees. Corporations do not care about people. It is not even in their DNA. Humans are only resources. They care about the almighty dollar.
Is it not curious that the rhetoric being propagated by Big Business and their media cohorts seems to omit the fact that Public Employees are tax payers too? I doubt they want people to realize that Civil Servants are shouldering their obligation to the State. It is easier to paint them as greedy do-nothings. I digress....
If one spends any amount of time online researching this topic, they will encounter one particular argument over and over -- that the Triborough Amendment gives the Unions too much power over the Government. As I have already pointed out above and provide links to that you can read for yourself, the Triborough Amendment does nothing of the kind. It is a part of the Taylor Law's checks and balances. It should also be noted that the Administration can (and has) use the Triborough Amendment to its advantage. In times of plenty a Governor can hold off or delay negotiating with the Unions in order to increase revenue for the State. Governor George Pataki did exactly this maneuver much to the chagrin of the Unions. I suspect there are a lot of boards of education and mayors across the State who have done similar things. So, contrary to what the far right says, the Triborough Amendment does not tip the scales for the Unions and it must be kept in place to maintain appropriate checks and balances within the Taylor Law.
Here in New York, there has been some discussion from the far right and their corporate lackeys in government (read: Andrew Cuomo through his senior advisor Larry Schwartz) and corporate lobbying groups (read: Committee to Save New York [for Corporations]) to repeal or "selectively" enforce New York's Triborough Amendment.