Teachers Union Sues NYC To Stop $2B In Budget Cuts

NEW YORK CITY — New York City's powerful teachers union sued Mayor Eric Adams to stop $2 billion in deep proposed budget cuts that labor leaders contend are "as unnecessary as they are illegal."

A lawsuit filed Thursday by the United Federation of Teachers argues against Adams' "false narrative" that the cost of asylum seekers is sapping the city's finances.

The mayor is using school funding as a "political bargaining chip" to get state and federal aid, the lawsuit contends.

"These cuts are based off of a fiscal crisis that we feel is completely fabricated at this point," said Michael Mulgrew, the union's president.

"It is not easy to take this step, but it is unprecedented where we are. We have never had an administration try to cut their schools when they have historic reserves and their revenues are all up."

UFT president Michael Mulgrew breaks down why we have to sue the city to protect our students. pic.twitter.com/5BpYEJWdgR
— UFT (@UFT) December 21, 2023

Adams, when asked about the lawsuit, stressed his close ties to the union and other labor leaders.

"From time to time, friends disagree," he said. "Sometimes it ends up in the boardroom, and sometimes it ends up in the courtroom."

The lawsuit caps an ongoing backlash over Adams' proposed midyear cuts.

Many elected officials and advocates have argued Adams administration officials' budget math, which shows a $7 billion shortfall, simply doesn't add up. They also contend the cuts, as proposed, are draconian and reflect priorities unreflective of most New Yorkers'.

The teacher union's filing expands on those arguments — and those blasting Adams for blaming the migrant crisis — by citing numbers that appear to show the city collected roughly $8 billion more in revenue during the last fiscal year.

New York state law requires officials to maintain school funding at an even level year-to-year unless city revenues decline, the lawsuit contends.

"City revenues have not declined," it states.

"The Mayor and the City’s budget cuts leave City Schools behind mandated level of funding for school programs and services necessary to provide a sound basic education to all New York City children."