Bloomberg: The Candidate For Fiscal Responsibility

Despite granting DC37 four percent raises during an economic downturn, the mayor doesn’t even get the union’s support, making it money well spent:

New York’s largest city workers union is expected to endorse Controller William Thompson for mayor this week, labor insiders say — a stunning switch from four years ago, when it backed Mayor Bloomberg.

The DC 37 endorsement would be a huge boost for Thompson’s underfunded campaign — not just for the volunteers and phone banks it can offer, but for the message it sends to other unions wary of bucking an incumbent mayor

. . .

DC 37 has 125,000 members and 50,000 retirees. Its members benefited from the generous 4% raises Bloomberg gave city unions last year, around the time he started his campaign to extend term limits so he could run again.

But DC 37 and its executive director, Lillian Roberts, are unhappy with Bloomberg for threatening to lay off its members and for opposing a bill to lift residency requirements for its workers, union leaders say.

The union bought subway ads this spring saying the city wastes $9 billion a year on private contracts that could be done by city workers. The ads blamed “City Hall,” not Bloomberg — but that could change.

And it’s not just DC37: Both the City Council and the Mayor’s office gave staffers raises based on that contract . . . and the best thing is that somehow Howard Wolfson finds the time to criticize donations to Thompson’s campaign. Unbelievable.