Rachel Maddow will remain on MSNBC for years to come. more ›

Yesterday we learned that Don Draper & Co. would not be returning to our television screens until 2012—preferably early 2012 before the universe as we know it is annihilated. It would just be nice to go out knowing if Don Draper will ever truly love, ya know. Either way, Mad Men will return... but rumored contract negotiations have creator Matt Weiner getting paid the big bucks to kill off his own characters. Allegedly! more ›

One of the only things worth watching on television these days is Mad Men, which delivers a detailed portrayal of a mid-century New York City, along with office politics and domestic drama. Plus lots of sex, smoking and dry martinis. Rumors surrounding the show's return have been making their way to the press in recent weeks, with word that the 5th season has been stalled, and the show possibly canceled, due to some unresolved negotiations. more ›

Guess what—waiting around for the cable guy to arrive has just gotten a little more interesting, because the city has just worked out a deal with the two major cable companies over their service technicians' tendency to be late. The NY Times reports, "Under the terms of a new contract that has been negotiated with City Hall, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision will have to pay a price for failing to honor appointments... The contract will make cable customers eligible for a credit amounting to full month’s bill if a technician does not arrive on time." more ›

The Jets' star player, cornerback Darrelle Revis, has been a holdout at training camp for 11 days and the war of the words between his camp and the Jets continues as well. On Tuesday, Revis's agent called the Jets "blatant" liars (the Jets claim the agent refused to let Revis have dinner wtih owner Woody Johnson), so now coach Rex Ryan is offering this plan: Just everybody come to training camp in Cortland, NY! "This is what I would like to have happen: Everyone put their cards on the table. Have Darrelle come here with anybody he wanted and we’ll have Mr. Johnson here. This is the way I would handle it: We’ll call off practice and we’ll have our whole team here and meet. That way there’s no he said/she said or whatever. Let’s just get the thing done. Let’s work it that way." more ›

As its assets remain frozen due to a Western New York man's claim that he owns 84% of Facebook, based on a 2003 contract with the social networking site's founder Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook has denounced the allegation. In a statement e-mailed to Wired, a company spokesperson said, "Mark has made it clear that [Paul] Ceglia’s claims are absurd and we strongly suspect the contract is forged." more ›

With season two not even on the air yet, there were rumors flying Monday that the cast of Jersey Shore were striking over problems with their new contract for season three—but the crisis has been averted everyone! TMZ reports that the cast got their raise and will indeed be returning to Seaside Heights again next year. PHEW. The gossip site also claims that Angelina—who was sent home early during season one—won't be returning with them (maybe that was a contract demand!). more ›

On Monday, building workers at Co-op City and management company RiverBay Corp. agreed to bring in a third-party mediator to help settle their contract negotiation. Statements from both sides reveal they're still ready to get at each others throats. RiverBay's spokesman Fred Winters said, "The only substantive issue to be resolved is whether or not the union will allow Co-op City to offer the same health plan as every other building in the Bronx employing 32 BJ workers," while 32BJ claims they "proposed and Co-op City management has agreed to" the third party. Failure to agree on a new contract could result in another strike! more ›

Little Flower Children and Family Services—a foster care agency serving the city and Long Island since 1927—is suing the city for rejecting their contract under a new award process. The agency claims moving over 1,400 children to new agencies is a difficult and traumatizing process, and could delay adoptions by up to 2.6 years. However, Mayor Bloomberg told the Post that Little Flower just wasn't run well. "When we have services that don't work we're going to move monies from those services or those organizations that either aren't patronized or aren't used well or aren't doing a good job, and we'll go to those that do." And he wonders why reporters think his English isn't good enough. more ›

On Sunday, D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee had some suggestions for NYC's school system, mainly that we should adopt a teachers' union contract like her's, which she calls "groundbreaking in many ways." NYC public school teachers can make up to $100,000, but Rhee wrote in a Daily News op-ed, "The best teachers, in my opinion, should be paid a lot more." She suggests firing "ineffective" teachers and basing those layoffs on performance, not tenure. The DOE already proposed a bill tying teacher performance to test scores. DC Schools Insider notes that Rhee was once Schools Chancellor Joel Klein's protege; a commenter grouses, "Rhee is already the poster child of the pushy, smug, opinionated 'N'Yawker' caricature, so full of certitude and so lacking in humility." more ›

Today building workers at the Co-op City housing development and the RiverBay Corp. sat down to resume contract negotiations for the first time since the week-long worker strike ended. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be going smoothly. RiverBay Corp. spokesman Fred Winters said, "32 BJ negotiators were not prepared for substantive discussion and the session ended after about ten minutes," suggesting that it might take a while before the two see eye-to-eye. Local 32 BJ are seeing a "multi-year agreement that maintains their family health care coverage and provides cost of living wage increases," and still maintain that RiverBay Corp. locked them out when negotiations broke down the last time. more ›

It seems like forever already, but Tiki Barber's extra-marital affair—dumping his 8-months-pregnant wife for a 23-year-old former NBC intern—was only revealed two days ago, which means that pulpy droplets of gossip continue to leak out from the broken faucet that is our favorite local newsrags. The Post follows up yesterday's anonymously sourced allegations of dorm-room hookups and gold-digging with brand new anonymously sourced info: namely that wife Ginny Barber was completely shocked and "devastated" by the revelation of the affair and that it had been going on since before she was pregnant with twins. One nameless source explained: "All of this came out of the blue for Ginny. People may say, 'How could she not know?' But she really didn't. Tiki is a guy who travels a lot." more ›

Thousands of unionized doormen and other apartment workers voted last night to authorize a strike later in the month, potentially leaving New Yorkers everywhere (or just on the Upper East Side) to sign for their own packages, pick up their own laundry and find other building workers to fall in love with. Though doormen in Brooklyn and Queens approved the measure earlier this week, workers in Manhattan approved the measure last night, authorizing a strike if negotiations can't create a new four-year contract by 12:01 a.m. on April 21. Union 32 BJ president Mike Fishman said in a press release, "Today’s strike vote shows we’re determined to keep our city a place that working families can afford to call home." The biggest issues are wages, health benefits, sick days and overtime, according to 1010Wins. more ›

Possible Senate candidate Harold Ford has been bashed by his likely rival for not disclosing whether or not he received a "taxpayer-backed bonus" from his job at Merrill Lynch. Turns out he didn't really need a bonus, because his unusual Wall Street contract promised him at least $2 million per year, regardless of his performance. more ›

East Side residents are accusing the city of trading a precious bit of green space for a little bit cash. The Parks Department is considering allowing a winter-time tennis bubble to operate year-round in the tiny Queensboro Oval at the corner of 59th Street and York Avenue—meaning neighbors wouldn't be able to access the park tucked beneath the Queensboro Bridge unless they paid a fee. more ›

When Conan O'Brien took on hosting duties of The Tonight Show, he had a team of lawyers negotiating his terms. Unfortunately, they neglected to specify a time slot, meaning NBC could put Conan on at whatever time they wanted, as long as he was still hosting The Tonight Show. more ›

On Monday, an arbitrator ruled transit workers could receive "four percent raises in each of the first two years of their contract; three percent in the third year -- far more than the MTA had budgeted for," according to NY1. Additionally, the MTA lost its bid to reduce the number of train operators aboard subway to just one (from two)—the Post says the Transit Workers Union "demanded a slew of outrageous perks to strong-arm the MTA into killing a plan that would have saved the cash-strapped agency $12 million," asking that if there was just a single operator, then the "lone operators get $2-an-hour pay hikes and that the conductors whose positions were eliminated simply get shifted to other lines," so the MTA decided not to pursue the single operator negotiation. TWU president Roger Toussaint denied that he made demands, instead saying, "This is plainly not true, and they know it. This was an exercise of incompetence at the highest level by [MTA director of labor relations] Ben Fernandez and [interim MTA CEO] Helena Williams, which they are now trying to cover up." And the Post's editorial board seems to agree, wondering if the MTA had planned this all along. more ›

Ever since the Jets got a whiff of former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez at the NFL Scouting Combine, they have certainly been aggressive in doing everything they can to put him in place as the team's next starting QB. After trading up to draft Sanchez fifth in April (and supporting his shirts-off time photo shoot in May), the team wasted little time in getting him signed to a five-year deal that looks to be worth around $50 million ($60M if Sanchez begins building a Jets dynasty with big results). Sanchez is only the second first-rounder to sign and it appears the quick contract paves the way to make the starting job his to lose. The $28 million in guaranteed money is lower than other recent first-round QBs (who have been signing for six years), but it still makes the deal the richest in Jets history. more ›

It's been more than seven years since the attacks of September 11th inspired the MTA to beef up security in the transit system, but a massive effort to improve surveillance underground is still incomplete. Back in 2005, the authority sealed a $212 million deal with Lockheed Martin to install 1,000 video cameras and 3,000 motion sensors, as well as enable cellphone service in 277 underground stations. Today the Times reports that large parts of the project are not "scheduled" to be completed until September, and that estimate doesn't even include parts of the under-river tunnels used by the subway and the Long Island Rail Road. The project was supposed to be done last August. more ›

Though the clock ticked past last night's midnight deadline for contract negotiations between Con Ed and the Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2, the two sides kept working and have worked out a tentative deal to avert a strike of about 9,000 members. more ›

Tonight, if midnight strikes without a new contract from Con Ed, the 9,000 workers represented by the Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2 could go on strike (unless Governor Paterson intervenes again, of course). The two sides are resuming their talks today at a NJ hotel. more ›

Con Ed and the union representing 9,000 members agreed to extend their contract negotiations for another three days, after Governor David Paterson intervened late yesterday. more ›

Thousands of Con Ed employees may be striking tomorrow, if the utility keeps up their act. Joe Flaherty, spokesman for the Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America, said of Con Ed's 0.5% base raise, "They want us to strike, no doubt about it. Half a percent, followed by 1% in the years after that, is just asinine." more ›

Con Ed and about 9,000 workers are locked in a contract battle that may threaten the city's power come Sunday. According to Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2, the utility and workers are "miles and miles apart." more ›

How will Lifetime transition from "woman in distress seeks revenge" movies to "hot tranny mess" is beyond us, but The NY Times reports that NBC Universal, Bravo's parent company, has lost their precious “Project Runway" to the "femme-centric" (per Variety) network. more ›