Mayor Bloomberg yesterday defended his deal not to lay off 4,100 teachers despite the city’s budget woes by saying such a move would have caused “chaos” under strict seniority-protection rules.
“Because we still have LIFO [last in, first out], the consequences of laying off there would have been devastating,” Bloomberg said, explaining his last-minute deal with the teachers union.
“It would just not have been fewer people that provide a service; it would have gotten rid of some of the best and brightest that we’ve been able to attract, and it would also have caused chaos because of all the bumping requirements in the UFT contract.”
The teachers were spared after the UFT came up with $60 million in savings by giving up sabbaticals for a year and allowing teachers in a reserve pool to serve as substitute fill-ins.
Bloomberg had been threatening the layoffs for months, and as he pointed out yesterday, more than 1,000 other city workers still face pink slips.