The Public Employees Fair Employment Act (more commonly known as the Taylor Law) refers to Article 14 of the New York State Civil Service Law, which defines the rights and limitations of unions for public employees in New York. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous
Taylor Law. [Public Employees’ Fair Employment Act]. New York State statute named for labor researcher George W. Taylor authorizing a governor-appointed State Public Employment Relations Board to resolve contract disputes for public employees while curtailing their right to strike. Mediation and binding arbitration are intended to give voice to unions while work stoppages are made punishable with fines and jail time. The United Federation of Teachers and the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association challenged the Taylor Law at its 1967 inception. Following a 2005 strike, Transit Workers’ president Roger Toussaint was incarcerated for three days as per a Taylor Law ruling.
Contents |
Details
The Taylor Law grants public employees the right to organize and elect their union representatives. It defines the boundaries for public employers in negotiating and entering into agreements with these public unions. The law also defines the terms for the foundation of the Public Employment Relations Board, a state agency that administers the law in matters related to public strike negotiation. The board consists of three members appointed by the governor. Each member must be approved by the senate, and only two can be of the same political party.
One of the most controversial parts of the Taylor Law is Section 210, which prohibits New York state public employees from striking, compelling binding PERB arbitration in the event of an impasse in negotiations. The fine for striking is twice the employee's salary for each day the strike lasts.
History
- The law was put into effect in 1967, following costly transit strikes the previous year. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar.
- Since its declaration, the law has been cited in averting several potential transit strikes. The fine was applied during the New York City Transit Authority 1980 transit strike and was applied again in the 2005 New York City transit strike. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA is a Public authority in the U The 1980 New York City transit strike in New York City (often referred to as the Subway strike) was the first work stoppage at the New York City Transit Authority The 2005 New York City transit strike was a strike in New York City called by the Transport Workers Union Local 100 (TWU
- During the 2005 transit strike, both the workers and the employers violated portions of the Taylor Law. Section 210 states that the workers are not allowed to strike; Section 201 Part 4 states that employers are not allowed to negotiate benefits provided by a public retirement fund or payment to a fund or insurer to provide an income for retirees.
- As of December 20, 2005, the New York State Supreme Court in Kings County (Brooklyn), declared the Transport Workers Union Local 100 in violation of the Taylor Law, and issued a fine of $1,000,000 per day, pursuant with the guidelines set forth in the law. Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City.
- The Taylor Law is named for George W. Taylor, chairman of the commission appointed by Nelson Rockefeller to propose amendments to the Condon-Wadlin Law. George W Taylor ( July 10, 1901 - December 15, 1972) was a notable Professor of Industrial relations at the Wharton Taylor was a professor of industrial research at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton school for forty years before his death in 1972. He served as an advisor on labor relations issues to Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. Taylor was a strong supporter of the strike in private sector bargaining.
Criticism and reform
While government officials support the Taylor Law as a way of preventing strikes by municipal unions in New York, the unions contend that the law is harsh on them. The labor unions also contend that the Taylor Law does not provide government agencies the incentive to negotiate contracts on a timely basis and negotiate the terms of the contract in good faith. There have been lobbying efforts by municipal unions to the New York state legislature to change the Taylor Law. There is some resistance or reluctance on reforming the law.
With the creation and assistance of the Taylor Law, members of many organizations including the Albany Fire Department were able to unionize, becoming one of the strongest political organizations. The year 1970 saw the birth of Union Local 2007, which was also responsible in paving the way for all other public sector unions in the City of Albany, New York. Albany is the Capital of the State of New York and the County seat of Albany County.
External links
- What is the Taylor Law from the New York state website
- Full Text of the Taylor Law from the New York State Public Employment Relations Board website
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic