Cuomo - 80,000 State Workers Might Not Get Raises Until 2023

It looks like pay raises for more than 80,000 state workers will be on hold for at least two years according to Governor Cuomo.

The state workers were expected to receive a 2% raise that was negotiated through their union's collective bargaining agreement. However, the current and expected future budget deficit has Governor Cuomo looking for ways to cut spending, and raises might be one of the cuts.

Currently, New York is looking at a $15 Billion budget deficit between revenue and spending. Governor Cuomo made the announcement on Tuesday and is being reported by the Times Union.

This isn't the first time pay raises have been deferred since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Back in March 2020, Governor Cuomo announced that raises would originally be delayed for 90 days, and which was then extended through the end of the year. During that time New York racked up huge expenditures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The good news, if there is any from this announcement, is that state workers who are due raises will get them eventually. Governor Cuomo announced that once raises were reinstated state workers would get the back pay that is owed to them.

According to the Times Union, many are upset about the delay and are especially upset that some higher-ranking state officials did receive raises while others did not. That doesn't seem at all fair. If the state has a freeze on raises it should count for every state worker.

Governor Cuomo was scheduled to receive a $25,000 raise but is planning on deferring his pay increase just like he did in 2020.