The president of New York City’s teachers’ union has issued a stark warning to Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his hesitancy to support one-time $10,000 bonuses for paraprofessionals, raising tensions between the city’s new democratic socialist mayor and a key labor leader.

During his campaign, Mamdani endorsed legislation that would provide these substantial bonuses to paraprofessionals, who are among the lowest-paid workers in the city’s public schools and often provide essential one-on-one support to students with disabilities. The City Council approved the bill unanimously last week, but the mayor’s administration has since raised legal concerns, citing potential violations of New York state labor law, specifically the Taylor Law, which regulates public employee labor relations.

Mamdani has yet to clarify whether he will veto the bill, challenge it legally, or allow it to become law without his signature. His office has stressed that issues of compensation should be resolved through collective bargaining processes that involve unions and city officials.

Michael Mulgrew, head of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), which represents roughly 190,000 members and counts the paraprofessionals among them, said he pressed the mayor during a meeting on Thursday to back the bonuses. “If we have to go to all-out war with him over this, then we’re willing to do that,” Mulgrew said, warning that opposition from the mayor’s office would mark a significant breach of trust.

Mulgrew also suggested that Mamdani might be receiving conflicting advice from city personnel and remains “somewhat optimistic” that a compromise could be reached, noting that the mayor requested additional discussions. He indicated that the union views the proposed payments as necessary “stabilization payments” to address shortages amid emergency conditions affecting paraprofessional recruitment and retention.

The paraprofessional workforce numbers approximately 26,000 employees, many earning starting salaries near $32,000 per year, with roughly 1,600 vacancies reported by the union. The bonuses would supplement base pay without affecting pensions and would be administered over the upcoming school year but would cease if negotiated salary increases of $10,000 or more were achieved.

City officials, including the Office of Labor Relations and the Office of Management and Budget, caution that authorizing these bonuses outside collective bargaining could breach the Taylor Law. Robert W. Linn, an adviser to the mayor and former labor relations commissioner, noted that it is unprecedented for the City Council to legislate bonuses for unionized workers and emphasized the longstanding effectiveness of the existing bargaining framework.

The financial impact of the bill is estimated at $325 million, drawing criticism from the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan watchdog group which argues that legislating such bonuses risks undermining collective bargaining and could prompt other unions to seek pay increases through legislation rather than negotiation. Already, City Council member Joann Ariola has referenced the paraprofessional bonus situation in her push for higher pay for Fire Department emergency medical technicians.

Mamdani’s approach to the bonuses follows a pattern of recalibrating campaign promises after taking office. Apart from this issue, he has walked back plans to expand housing vouchers and has not disbanded a controversial police unit that responds to protests, both commitments he made during his campaign.

Paraprofessionals themselves emphasize the urgency of additional compensation. Jasminie Jones, a paraprofessional in Queens who assists students with disabilities, described struggling to live on her current salary and supplementing her income with a second job. “There’s no way a paraprofessional can survive on just the check that they’re getting,” she said.

As debates continue over the legality and appropriateness of the bonuses, the mayor and union leaders appear to be preparing for further negotiations to resolve the dispute.