New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has sued to block the RESPECT Check Act, a City Council measure granting each school paraprofessional a one-time $10,000 workforce stabilization bonus. The council approved the bill unanimously in mid-July with 47 co-sponsors, enough to override a veto. Mamdani’s office says the law improperly lets politicians set employment terms outside collective bargaining and violates New York’s Taylor Law. City Council Speaker Julie Menin, Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, the New York City Central Labor Council and United Federation of Teachers support the measure and plan to defend it. Supporters say the payment could help address about 1,600 paraprofessional vacancies and reduce staffing-related costs, including the $1.5 billion the city spends resolving Carter Cases. Mamdani backed an earlier version that would have made the bonus recurring annually, but the enacted law guarantees it for one year and allows renewal unless a union contract provides paraprofessionals an equivalent raise, in which case the law would be repealed. The lawsuit follows Mamdani’s public dispute with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos over taxes and funding for public services, including schools.