Defying a long tradition of NYC Mayors becoming publicly involved in labor disputes, Mayor Bloomberg has instead opted for a quiet behind the scenes approach. The involvement of the Mayor's Office has been critical in the settling of the musicians' strike and the cable dispute, but little credit is sought for Mr. Bloomberg's involvement or that of his labor commissioner, James F. Hanley. Their preferred method is to choose and insert impartial mediators into disputes, keeping things under wraps and allowing negotiations to proceed in private without public scrutiny.
See Jennifer Steinhauer, The New York Times, March 13, 2003