They\u2019re pensioning off New York\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Powerful public-sector unions scored their $557 million sweetheart pension<\/a> giveaway after an election-year pressure campaign aimed at Gov. Kathy Hochul and Albany lawmakers that cashed in on labor\u2019s long support for statewide Democrats.<\/p>\n The ultimate deal unveiled this week was directly negotiated with Hochul by AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento, whom a coalition of unions entrusted to accomplish their decade-old goal of rolling back pension reforms that had raised recently hired teachers\u2019 retirement ages.<\/p>\n Gov. Kathy Hochul negotiated a sweetheart pension giveaway to state employees. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Former Hudson Valley state Sen. David Carlucci, a Democrat, said organized labor\u2019s relentless push to turn back the retirement clock was politically impossible for Hochul to ignore as she runs for re-election this fall.<\/p>\n \u201cIn an election year especially, lawmakers pay attention when unions mobilize members, shape public opinion, and turn frustration into action at the ballot box,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a reminder that when labor moves together, it remains one of the most powerful forces in New York politics.\u201d<\/p>\n The pension porkapalooza centered around the state\u2019s Tier 6 employees, a category established by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2012 to help contain runaway retirement costs.<\/p>\n To the unions\u2019 everlasting chagrin, Cuomo and lawmakers raised the retirement age in Tier 6 to 63 and set higher employee contributions.<\/p>\n Roughly 800,000 public employees are currently in Tier 6. It now represents 66% of workers under the state\u2019s primary retirement system.<\/p>\n The final deal hatched by Hochul and Cilento clearly shows the fingerprints of various union groups, particularly those representing teachers.<\/p>\n Teachers unions, including the formidable United Federation of Teachers, had pushed for an earlier retirement age of 55 to offset the fact their workers don\u2019t make overtime.<\/p>\n Under the finalized deal, Tier 6 teachers will be able to retire penalty-free at age 58 after 30 years of service, rather than the current 63.<\/p>\n AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento represented unions in talks with Hochul. James Messerschmidt for NY Post<\/p>\n The teachers\u2019 union gives \u2014 and then it gets, records show.<\/p>\n The New York State United Teachers, which counts the UFT as an affiliate, has donated $18.7 million to candidates, mostly state lawmakers, going back to 1999, according to the records.<\/p>\n The UFT has donated another $4.2 million.<\/p>\n Since 2021, NYSUT donated $952,000 to the chief fundraising arm of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, campaign finance records show. The UFT donated another $101,000 to DACC.<\/p>\n NYSUT also donated $404,000 to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee over the same time period.<\/p>\n The haul doesn\u2019t include contributions given during the 2026 legislative session, because the next campaign report filing isn\u2019t due for candidates until July.<\/p>\n But the available records show Heastie\u2019s campaign pulled in $44,000 in donations since 2023.<\/p>\n And Heastie\u2019s PACs were showered with $20,000 from union-associated political action committees, according to the records.<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins\u2019 campaign also benefited from unions\u2019 largesse, collecting $27,000 in donations since 2023, records show. <\/p>\n Hochul\u2019s gubernatorial campaign reaped tens of thousands of dollars in donations from public-sector unions, including $18,000 from the American Federation of Teachers, according to records.<\/p>\n UFT President Michael Mulgrew hailed the deal lowering teachers\u2019 retirement age to 58. Robert Miller<\/p>\n After the deal was struck, UFT president Michael Mulgrew took a victory lap.<\/p>\n \u201cAlbany heard us and took a major step in correcting the injustice of Tier 6,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ken Girardin, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute think tank, said go-along to get-along legislators fear the teachers\u2019 union will back a primary challenger.<\/p>\n \u201cThis rollback of pension reform was a display of raw political power by the teachers\u2019 union,\u201d he said. \u201cThey did not have the facts on their side.<\/p>\n \u201cLegislators are afraid to say no to the teachers\u2019 union. They want to pay their rent or mortgage.\u201d<\/p>\n Cilento, for his part, argued the pension changes will help the state recruit and retain public employees, thus improving government services. <\/p>\n He thanked Hochul, Heastie, Stewart-Cousins and the state\u2019s Democratic legislative majorities for backing the changes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Union Movement\u2019s fight to fix Tier 6 has always been about dignity, self-respect, and financial independence in retirement,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a reduction in pension contribution rates, lifting the cap on pensionable overtime, or reducing the retirement age, these changes are a clear victory for public sector workers across this state.\u201d<\/p>\n The state budget bill also approves a plan by Mayor Zohran Mamdani to delay $2.3 billion <\/a>in New York City\u2019s pension payments in order to help close a spending shortfall. <\/p>\n