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The next bill before me today is Introductory Number 900-A, sponsored by Council Members Cruz and Warden. The bill would empower the Mayoral and labor appointees to the Board of Collective Bargaining to set the amount of the per diem fee paid to the Board's impartial members.

As many New Yorkers know, the Board of Collective Bargaining is the entity responsible for resolving labor disputes between the City and public employee unions. The Board consists of seven members. The Mayor and the public employee unions each appoint two members to the Board. Those four members then jointly select three impartial members, one of whom serves as the salaried chair. The other two impartial members are paid on a per diem basis as codified in the City Charter. This legislation would delete references to the amount of the per diem stipend from the Charter and instead allow the Mayoral and union appointees to set the pay rate for the impartial members. Therefore, under this bill, we will no longer have to enact legislation in order to adjust the per diem fee amount, an amount that has remained unchanged for twenty years.

The new power that this legislation will grant to Mayoral and labor Board members is appropriate and in the best interest of Board operations. Since the Mayoral and labor appointees already select the impartial members, it is proper that they also determine how much money the impartials receive.

For the reasons previously stated, I will now sign the bill.

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