Buffalo Teacher Wage Freeze Is Upheld in Court

By HOWARD MEGDAL

The head of the Buffalo Teachers Federation reacted with disappointment to a Federal appeals court's decision to uphold the city's wage freeze, locking Buffalo's Teachers into the same terms they've worked under since the union's contract expired June 30, 2004.

The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the salary restriction, ordered by the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority on April 21, 2004, was for a "legitimate public purpose" given the fiscal crisis the city faced.

Can't Fight City Hall

"It wasn't unexpected, let me put it that way," BTF President Philip Rumore said of the ruling in a Sept. 27 phone interview. "I think we're right on the law, but when a city claims poverty, it's difficult to win."

In light of huge deficits, the city had turned its fiscal policy over to the Authority in 2003, with a goal of financial stability by 2007-08. When less-extreme measures failed to accomplish much, the freeze was enacted the following year.

The BTF had argued that the move violated Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from passing laws "impairing the obligations of contracts."

"You should not be able to abridge a contract unless every other means [has] been exhausted," Mr. Rumore said. "A contract is something that should be sacrosanct." He said the union plans to appeal.