Changes to Tier 6 have received enthusiastic support from across the state, as seen here in the massive 15,000-person MVP rally in Albany recently. ALBANY | With New York state’s April 1 budget deadline just days away, pressure is intensifying across the state as an unprecedented coalition of legislators, local government leaders, educators, nurses, firefighters, and public-sector employers warn Albany: failure to act on Tier 6 is already driving a workforce crisis, and it’s getting worse.
Legislators from both sides of the aisle and every region of the state are demanding change. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, state Attorney General Tish James and more have expressed support for action this budget cycle.
Local elected officials, mayors, county executives and other municipal employers — the very people on the front lines of recruiting and retaining the public workforce — are seeing the consequences firsthand. They know the cost of inaction: fewer workers, fewer services, and communities left without the teachers, nurses, and first responders they need…