NEW YORK, NY January 09, 2009 —Days after a year-end deadline, the city and the state are still negotiating pay raises for more than 27,000 daycare workers. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports:

REPORTER: The United Federation of Teachers represents these workers who provide daycare to low income families. Their average pay is less than $20,000 a year. The union had hoped an agreement between the city and state would've been reached by now but negotiations continue to drag on. Initially the state threatened to pull nearly half a billion dollars in funding if the city did not honor the raises by December 31st. The deadline then became flexible as the two sides continued to negotiate. The state has provided the city with about $27 million for the raises. The cash strapped Administration for Children's Services says it needs much more than that. The agency estimates the raises will cost about $53 million a year, plus another $50 million in retroactive pay. Both sides say they're in the process of working things out. It's unclear whether that means workers will be asked to settle for less money. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez.