The powerful teachers’ union delivered a master class in wheeling and dealing — winning pay bumps of up to $9,500 as part of a deal delaying New York’s class size mandate.
Under a compromise, the United Federation of Teachers agreed to amend the state law, giving Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his Department of Education two additional years to lower class sizes in city public schools.
But there’s a catch: the city must shell out for “differential pay” — as much as an additional $8,500 in the upcoming school year and up to $9,500 the following year for teachers in schools being exempt from the mandate.
The pay differential is a side deal worked out between Mamdani’s team and the union — and is not part of the amended class size legislation being voted on in Albany.
Under the state’s original 2022 law, 80% of city public school classrooms by next year were required to have no more than 20-25 students, depending on the grade level.
Absent waivers, all classrooms were to abide by those caps by the following 2027-28 school year — 20 students for K-3rd grade, 23 for grades 4 to 8 and 25 for high schools.
But the new timeline gives the city DOE until the 2029-30 school year to be in full compliance.
The city will need to be at 70% compliance by the upcoming 2026-27 school year, 80% by 2027-28 and 90% by 2028-29, under the agreement involving Gov. Kathy Hochul, the Democrat-controlled state Legislature, Mamdani and the UFT.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew bent a little to help the mayor — but at a price.
Schools can receive exemptions to help meet the citywide goals of 70% compliance next year and 80% in 2027-28.
Under the side deal, teachers whose classes have a number of students exceeding the cap over the next two years — and who have snagged a waiver — will get a payout, according to the UFT.
The pay bumps would take effect even if a school can’t meet the class size targets because of difficulty recruiting teachers in certain hard-to-staff subjects or lack of facility space.
“For the first time, teachers whose classes remain above the new class size limits because of approved hard-to-staff and space exemptions will be eligible for a differential of up to $8,500 in 2026-27 school year and $9,500 in the 2027-28 school year,” Mulgrew said in an internal email sent to thousands of members.
“These exemptions will be decided upon in November of each year,” he said.
Mulgrew said the bonus pay for non-compliance will serve as a stick — an incentive — to pressure the city to comply with the class size reduction law.
The revised class reduction measure is expected to pass the state Legislature later this week, and, following approval by Hochul, will take effect July 1.
The 2-year delay is expected to provide Mamdani and NYC Public Schools $500 million in budget relief in the next fiscal year.
It comes after the UFT — and its statewide affiliate, New York State United Teachers — also scored big on winning pension boosts for members in Albany’s 2026 legislative session.
City taxpayers will dish out $151 million for Hochul and state lawmakers’ sweetheart deal to the UFT and other public labor unions – largely undoing pension reforms enacted in 2012 that slightly reined in runaway spending.
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Teachers and other educators in pension Tier 6 will be able to retire penalty-free at age 58 after 30 years of service, rather than the current 63. The union sought a full pension retirement age of 55.
All government workers in Tier 6 essentially get a raise by contributing less toward their pensions and shifting more costs to local governments and taxpayers.
Teachers make a minimum of $71,314 to a maximum of $150,236, depending on longevity and credentials, according to a salary schedule on the UFT website.
One education analyst said the pay bumps over class sizes would create inequities in schools.
In general, the highly performing and desirable schools have larger class sizes, while struggling schools, which have dwindling enrollment, already have smaller class sizes, said Danyela Souza, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute think tank.
“We’re going to pay teachers more in schools that are highly functioning, where the kids are getting a good education. It creates inequities, Souza said.
“It’s another side effect of a poorly designed law,” she added.
The mayor’s office and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels offered no immediate comment.
Mulgrew defended the pay deal.
“For the first three years of the law, New York City didn’t do the work needed to bring smaller classes to as many students as it could..It didn’t build new additions or get aggressive about recruitment,” he said Tuesday.
“We needed a way to hold the DOE accountable going forward so we don’t have to rely on exemptions to meet the law’s more difficult benchmarks. Differentials are one way to hold the system accountable so students get the benefits faster,” he said.
He continued, “If the city is going to take additional time to bring every class into compliance with the new limits, then teachers teaching non-compliant classes in those schools that are receiving exemptions deserve to be recognized and compensated.”