Crossing Guard Contract

I am deeply disappointed by the failure of the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority to ratify the contract agreed to between my Administration and the Buffalo crossing guards union.

The City of Buffalo can afford the contract.  That was the key issue Control Board members had to consider in weighing the benefit of the contract to the 157 crossing guards and city taxpayers. And still the Control Board failed to ratify this contract.

The Buffalo crossing guards, who protect our city’s schoolchildren every day during the school year, have not had a wage increase since 2000.  This contract would have increased their salaries from $7.09 to $10.00 an hour. The average increase of $2.00 an hour complies with the City of Buffalo’s Living Wage ordinance, which has been law since 1999 and has covered all city employees since 2004. 

In addition, 32 crossing guards don’t even earn New York State’s minimum wage; that would have changed under this new contract.

I am at a complete loss as to why any Control Board member would vote against these employees, knowing that the city can afford the contract.  In fact, as the Control Board members know, the 157 crossing guards’ annual salaries, under the new contract, will account for approximately $350,000 against the city’s $412 million annual budget.