Adams, by Letting Municipal Workforce Work Remotely, Sticks a Fork in New York’s Recovery
New York City officials just announced another bone-headed move sure to delay the Big Apple’s recovery.
No, I’m not talking about the Clean the Slate proposal, which would conceal past criminality from landlords or prospective employers, potentially putting lives at risk. With rampant crime chief among New Yorkers’ concerns, that seems a poor idea.
I’m talking instead about the decision to allow municipal employees to work remotely. What on earth can they be thinking?
More than anything, New York needs people to come back to work. More employees mean safer streets and more revenues for the city, as well as the delis, hair salons, shoe stores and all the other gazillion businesses that keep New York afloat.
New York’s leaders should be doing everything possible to make that happen, instead of setting a very bad example with its own workforce.
Mayor Adams has reached a deal with New York’s largest public sector union which will allow employees to work remotely two days a week. The pilot program has already begun and will run through at least May 2025.
The agreement involves city workers who are members of DC-37; that union has about 150,000 members. Not all employees will be eligible — lifeguards and zookeepers, whose unions are part of DC-37, will probably not be working remotely.
Why is this such a terrible idea? Because New York, like several other blue cities (think Chicago and San Francisco) is bleeding residents. A combination of high taxes, suffocating business regulations, unmanageable living costs and soaring crime has driven people out.
New York State’s tax base shrank $24.5 billion last year and the Democrats in charge have but one idea to salvage their sinking ship – hike taxes even more, creating a death spiral. New York City already has the highest combined state and local tax rate in the country at 14.8 percent.
To read more… https://www.nysun.com/article/adams-letting-municipal-workforce-work-remotely-sticks-a-fork-in-new-yorks-recovery
Published on The New York Sun
