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To the editor:
I'm happy to see that an arbitrator has ruled that the city must give its nurses pay parity with those in the private sector (The Chief, Aug. 4).
Labor Commissioner Renee Campion was reappointed to her post by Mayor Eric Adams, who decided to continue his predecessor's Scrooge-esque policies. She is "disappointed" that the arbitrator's decision was not "pattern-conforming."
She should be asked the following questions. How do you correct a pay disparity without a raise that's above the pattern? How would you bring workers out of poverty without a raise that's above the pattern?
Increase all city workers' salaries up to where they should be and then we can talk about pattern bargaining. Even then, it would be necessary for the pattern to keep up with inflation.
Most rents do not follow a pattern. According to a report from real estate company Douglas Elliman and appraisers Miller Samuel, Manhattan medium rent hit $4,400 in July. In Brooklyn, it's $3,950. In Northwest Queens, it's $3,641. To quote the late Gwen Guthrie, "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent."
Richard Warren
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