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The United University Professions and the Public Employees Federation have both come to agreements with the state on new contracts.

The contracts are set to be approved by the Legislature in the remaining days of session, with bills sponsored by Sen. Robert Jacksonand Assemblymember Chris Eachus. UUP represents more than 37,000 faculty and staff within the State University of New York system. PEF represents 51,000 employees with professional, scientific and technical titles.

Both unions praised the deals with the Hochul administration. UUP president Fred Kowal said the “strong agreement” created for the SUNY union is an expansion of their last contract.

“I think it’s an excellent agreement; it builds on our last contract which was a good deal, but with this one we are able to address important issues for our different constituent groups in the union,” Kowal said to POLITICO. “Overall, it is a strong agreement, and we are pleased that the state and governor worked together to enhance the conditions for the students and our faculty and staff.”

Here’s what we know so far about the agreements:

• The PEF deal will last until April 1, 2026 and includes a 9 percent salary increase by the end of the contract term.
• The UUP agreement will last until July 1, 2026 and includes a 3 percent increase each year of the contract. It also includes a retroactive 2 percent wage increase for 2022.

Kowal said there are elements that won’t come out until June 21, when union members take the contract to a vote, but he said the tentative agreement is a “historic” one that the union is pleased with. Hochul announced the agreements on Thursday afternoon.
“These agreements with PEF and UUP represent major wins for the hardworking employees of New York State,” Hochul said in a statement. “Through these agreements, my administration is standing by its commitment to investing in New York’s public workforce and continuing to work hand-in-hand with our brothers and sisters in labor.”

HOUSING OUT, REPARATIONS STUDY IN: The end of the legislative session is in sight, and so too are the deals — or no deals.

Legislative leaders indicated Thursday afternoon that they couldn’t strike a deal with Hochul on a last-ditch effort to patch together a housing deal, once again leaving one of the state’s most vexing problems for another year.

But the Assembly and Senate did strike some other deals that were moving through the chambers. The sides were expected to both debate a bill Thursday set to pass that would create a reparations committee on slavery — only the second state after California to do so.

“We want to hear from individuals about what we can do to tackle slavery and its legacy,” the bill’s sponsor, Assemblymember Michelle Solages said during the floor debate, explaining that hearings would be held across the state.

Republicans knocked the proposal, but Solages responded: “When one group of individuals are uplifted, we are all uplifted.” — Joseph Spector

CUOMO BRIDGE UPDATE: The bill to rename the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge to add back Tappan Zee was passed 51-11 Tuesday in the Senate, but don’t expect a vote in the Assembly. It hasn’t received a Democratic-majority sponsor, but Senate sponsor, James Skoufis, offered hope that it might ultimately win approval — one day.

“I am grateful to colleagues on both sides of the aisle for recognizing what a point of pride the Tappan Zee name is for us in the Hudson Valley. I urge the Assembly to take up the measure this week,” he said in a statement. — Joseph Spector

Mayor Eric Adams went on a verbal tirade Thursday against city Comptroller Brad Lander, complete with a nasally impression of the chief financial officer and an accusation that he was trying to be a “shadow mayor.”

Adams claimed Lander — a vociferous critic of the mayor’s approach to the migrant crisis — was the “loudest person in the city” and slammed him for not traveling to Washington to lobby for more federal funding for asylum-seekers.

Lander, a potential primary challenger from Adams’ left, shot back (through a spokesperson) that he’s been loud about “the mayor’s failure to focus on the most urgent thing that City Hall can do to help people move out of shelter: legal services to help people file their asylum applications so they can get work authorization.”

Lander also referenced conversations with federal officials over “many months” for more resources.

The comments came following an unrelated City Hall press conference when a reporter asked the mayor about a recent trip to Washington by City Council members to discuss the migrant crisis and other issues. Adams seemed unimpressed by the jaunt. He listed the months since the crisis began last spring, implying the trip could have happened sooner.

“April, May, June, July, August, September, October…It’s a lot of months, I’ve been saying this for a long time,” Adams said. “This is the number one crisis in our city right now, number one crisis; every representative should be talking about this issue.” — Janaki Chadha and Julia Marsh

LEGAL: Attorney General Tish James filed a lawsuit Thursday against the anti-abortion group Red Rose Rescue for the disruption of healthcare services around the state of New York.

The group have been accused of trespassing into medical facilities and clinics, preventing patients for getting reproductive care and refusing to leave until they are physically removed by law enforcement.

James said on Thursday the office is “seeking civil penalties and damages.” James referred to Red Rose Rescue as “terrorist.” The office wants to request a 30 feet buffer zone from the court preventing Red Rose Rescue come near medical facilities around the state.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Adams referred to social media as a new Trojan horse that has “snuck up on us” and “captured our young people” during a summit Thursday on the topic.

“Those of us who are lovers of Greek mythology, I believe that this is the Troy War,” Adams said. “We must identify the Trojan horses, not allow them into the fortress of our families and in our city and our country.”

City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said the goal of the summit — part of the Adams administration’s three-pronged mental health agenda — was to explore research, policy, public health interventions and litigation to minimize the harms of social media on children’s mental health. — Maya Kaufman

EDUCATION: All New York City public school students and staff will shift to remote learning and work Friday due to a decline in air quality as a result of the Canadian wildfire smoke, the Department of Education announced Thursday.

Friday is a prescheduled clerical day as well as a nonattendance day for students in most schools with the exception of schools serving grades 6-12 or 9-12. All early childhood contracted programs with a scheduled service Friday also have the option to transition to remote learning. Attendance decreased by nearly 3 percentage points Wednesday, to 84.69 percent. Attendance was 87.5 percent on Tuesday. — Madina Touré

SCHOOL AID: The New York State Education Conference Board issued a letter this week calling on Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to support a formal review of the foundation aid formula. The ECB represents seven of the state’s leading public education organizations.

The board supports a State Education Department-led study, first reported by POLITICO, that will look at the foundation amount, pupil needs index, regional cost index, and expected local contributions. They noted that they would like to see even districts protected by the state’s “save harmless” policy continue to see state aid increase every year.

“Without updates to the formula, state aid will lag behind the actual cost of providing students with a high-quality education. Over time the great progress in recent years will be lost,” ECB Chair John Yagielski said. — Katelyn Cordero

HEALTH CARE: Hospitals across New York City are seeing a slight uptick in asthma-related visits to the emergency department as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to affect the air quality, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported Thursday afternoon.

“While we are seeing higher than usual asthma-related visits to the Emergency Department, these visits and calls are still in the low hundreds and our hospital and health care systems are fully able to respond to patients,” department spokesperson Pedro Frisneda said in a statement. “This is an important reminder to stay indoors as much as possible, with the windows closed. If you must be outside, a high-quality mask may help.”

There were 309 asthma-related visits to emergency departments across the city yesterday, up from 162 visits the day before — a level last seen in April, according to the most recent available Department of Health data. — Maya Kaufman

MEDICARE ADVANTAGE BATTLE: Lander declined to register the city’s contract with health insurer Aetna to shift roughly 250,000 retirees into a Medicare Advantage plan.

Lander said the Comptroller’s Bureau of Contract Administration “carefully” reviewed the contract and returned it to the city’s Office of Labor Relations without registering it.

Retirees recently sued the city to block the new Medicare Advantage plan. The city signed the Medicare Advantage contract with Aetna at the end of March.

“Pending litigation calls into question the legality of this procurement and constrains us from fulfilling our Charter mandated responsibility to confirm that procurement rules were followed, sufficient funds are available, and the City has the necessary authority to enter into the contract,” Lander said in a statement Thursday. — Madina Touré

— Mayor Eric Adams hired his sister in law for a $150,000 gig at the education department. (THE CITY)

— The court case is moving forward to potentially redraw district lines for U.S. House seats in New York next year. (POLITICO)

— In all the parms lifelong New Yorker and City Hall reporter Katie Honan had sampled, she’d never tasted anything like the artichoke sandwich she found at a Brooklyn deli. (Bon Appétit)