ALBANY, NY. Jan. 14, 2015 - New York State United Teachers, reacting to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's just-announced tax break plan for middle-class homeowners, said the union has long been an advocate for a needs-based approach to tax relief but that the governor's proposal is deficient because it is tied to his property tax cap, passed in 2010 and being challenged in court by NYSUT as unconstitutional.
NYSUT leaders said, in order for taxpayers to achieve any relief under the Cuomo plan, communities could be forced to cut academic programs and services in order to fit under the cap, thus adversely affecting students and the quality education they receive.
New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.