Editorials

55/25: A victory of negotiations and political action

Mar 13, 2008 3:49 PM

Ah, that new equation will make a lot more people happy!

55/25 is now a reality and thousands of teachers are delighted. When Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed the new pension legislation into law on Feb. 27 it was the culmination of years of hoping-against-hope, of strenuous lobbying, of a prior governor’s vetoes and, finally, of a combination of shrewd political action and collective bargaining even with the pressures of an economy turning south, and private-sector pensions disappearing.

Yet this was a nail-biter to the finish. Even after both houses of the Legislature fulfilled their promises to the UFT by passing the bill with sweeping majorities, the governor was under pressure from “fiscal watchdogs” who counseled doom and gloom over plunging stock prices. They said 55/25 was too expensive and this was not the time for it.

What may have tipped the balance is that Mayor Bloomberg supported the measure and anonymous sources said it would save the city money in the long term. Not in the first few years, when it will be costly, but in the long run, say 10 years. Millions of dollars — it may average to something like $12 million a year over the next 10 — is not exactly earth-shaking for a city whose budget is close to $60 billion next year.

But the mayor stood up for a deal he had made with the UFT to support 55/25 when the union agreed to a voluntary schoolwide bonus pilot. We have had our differences with the mayor — and still do, over budget cuts, for example — but he came through on 55/25. And so did state lawmakers and Gov. Spitzer.