New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is fighting the City Council to block $10,000 bonuses for paraprofessionals, also known as teachers’ aides, drawing backlash from some city political leaders.
It’s the latest showdown between Mamdani and the New York City Council since his election last year. Mamdani has been popular among younger progressive voters in the city, but not all council members have supported his agenda, and he has clashed with the council on issues including taxes and public safety.
The City Council has unanimously passed legislation that would give $10,000 bonuses to paraprofessionals working in public schools, as many elected officials believe they are underpaid.
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According to the United Federation of Teachers, paraprofessionals in New York City currently have a starting pay of $32,098 and a top pay of $54,541, though the exact amount depends on their specific role.
New York is among the most expensive places to live in the United States, so advocates have been pushing for better pay for paraprofessionals. For instance, a studio apartment costs an average of $3,495 per month, according to Zillow. A report from SmartAsset found that single adults need to make $124,342 to live comfortably in New York State.
Mamdani, however, is suing the City Council over the law, a spokesperson for the mayor, Matt Rauschenbach, said this week in a statement provided to Newsweek.
Why Zohran Mamdani Is Moving to Block Bonuses for Paraprofessionals
Mamdani’s opposition to the law centers on his concerns around collective bargaining, according to a statement from Rauschenbach.
Mamdani is a democratic socialist who often aligns himself with organized labor unions. He also made affordability a cornerstone of his 2025 campaign.
“Collective bargaining is how working people make their voices heard and win the wages, benefits and protections they deserve. It’s a fundamental pillar of a fair economy,” the statement reads.
The City Council has “passed legislation that undermines collective bargaining and sets a dangerous precedent: allowing politicians to bypass workers and their unions and dictate the terms of employment themselves,” the statement continues.
“We will not allow the political process to replace the collective bargaining table,” Rauschenbach wrote. “The City is filing a lawsuit to protect the right of every union to negotiate on behalf of its members, to fight for the workplace they deserve and ensure that workers–not politicians–determine their own futures.”
Mamdani’s administration is seeking a judgment declaring the legislation “unlawful,” according to the court filing, a copy of which was provided to Newsweek.
“Indeed, the bill ignores nearly sixty years of well-established collective bargaining process under the Taylor Law—which requires that public employers and unions negotiate in good faith on mandatory subjects of bargaining, such as compensation—and improperly mandates that the DOE pay approximately 25,000 employees up to $10,000.00 each,” the filing reads.
The payments “effectively function as stipends or salary bonuses and, regardless of terminology, are an additional form of compensation and, as such, a mandatory subject of bargaining,” the filing argues. The process provided in the Taylor Law is important to balance paraprofessionals’ “understandable desire for additional compensation” with the fiscal capacity of the New York City Department of Education.
The filing warned of “huge fiscal consequences for the DOE and the City—and, by extension, the tax-paying public” if the bill passes.
Mamdani’s lawsuit also raised concerns about the precedent this legislation would set.
“If the Paraprofessional Pay Bill is allowed to stand, other public employees will undoubtedly seek their own “stabilization” payments from the Council, also outside of the collective bargaining process, or otherwise use Council proposals for such payments as leverage over that process,” the lawsuit reads.
Teachers Union Leader Pushes Back
Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, pushed back on Mamdani’s reasoning in a statement to Newsweek on Thursday.
“This moment is an opportunity for Mayor Mamdani to create a new, fairer system and build the kind of city he said he wanted to lead. This administration must keep its promises, and we won’t stop until it does,” he wrote.
He said the law was “carefully drafted” to ensure it does not violate New York’s collective bargaining laws.
“The City Council would not have introduced—let alone passed—this bill if it were illegal, and we would not have supported a bill that threatened our collective bargaining rights,” he wrote.
He previously told The New York Times that the union was prepared to “go to all-out war” with Mamdani over the bonuses.
However, some align more with Mamdani.
Marie Wausnock, a union executive board member, told Chalkbeat New York that she is “all for getting more money, but this does not solve the problem.”
Mamdani Lawsuit Expands Rift With Council
Democrat Julie Menin, the speaker of the New York City Council, pushed back against Mamdani in a joint statement with Council member Carmen De La Rosa, also a Democrat.
“The law is not only the right thing to do, it is also the fiscally responsible thing to do, helping address the staffing shortages that contribute to the City’s $1.5 billion in Carter case costs,” they wrote.
They said it is “unacceptable” that paraprofessionals supporting some of the highest-need students “are earning as little as $32,000 a year” and that the council will “vigorously” defend the law.
Menin is viewed as a more moderate leader compared to Mamdani and has argued that the legislation is fiscally responsible. The 1,600 vacancies of paraprofessionals are largely because of the salary, she said during an interview on The Brian Lehrer Show on Wednesday. The city is spending $1.5 billion each year on lawsuits from parents who feel their special-needs children are not receiving the services they are entitled to, she added.
City Council member Phil Wong, a Democrat, also criticized Mamdani over the lawsuit in a post on X.
“Paraprofessionals do some of the hardest work in our schools and deserve to be paid fairly,” he wrote. “That’s why I proudly supported the RESPECT Check Act, and why the Council must defend it. The Mayor had eight months to sit down, bargain and come up with a better solution.”
Council Member Inna Vernikov, a Republican, wrote in a post to X that “underpaid & overworked school aides who were PROMISED an advocate in City Hall don’t know if they will ever see a pay raise.”
Kate Willett, a progressive comedian and actress who has been a vocal supporter of Mamdani, wrote on X that the lawsuit is a “bad bad use of political capital.”
“Feels like he’s walking right into Menin’s trap on this. There are no workers more sympathetic than those making poverty wages to assist special needs children, and he should pick his battles,” Willett wrote.
Mamdani Supported Paraprofessional Bonuses as Candidate
As a candidate, Mamdani said he would support legislation to give paraprofessionals a $10,000 bonus.
“I think it’s critically important. I supported it in the primary, and I continue to support it today,” he said. “The reason I do is that we have an increasing number of vacancies in paraprofessional positions in New York City. Part of this is because we are paying people a wage they cannot afford to live on in the city.”
How Popular Is Zohran Mamdani?
A recent poll from Siena University found that Mamdani remains popular in the city, with 69 percent of respondents viewing him favorably and 24 percent viewing him negatively. However, statewide, views were more split, with 47 percent viewing him positively and 44 percent unfavorably.
The survey polled 811 likely voters August 3-6 and had an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
Mamdani has become a lightning rod for GOP criticism in New York ahead of the November midterms, as Republicans hope the rise of progressivism in New York City could alienate some moderate, independent voters from the party and give them a chance to flip the governorship and hold key House seats.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon, Dave Siminoff, Sam Wilson.
Correction 8/20/26, 12:56 p.m. ET: This story was adjusted to show that Michael Mulgrew is the president of the United Federation of Teachers.