The money is trivial for me at this point and I'm happy that current employees are in fact getting their deserved back pay, but I also want everyone to be made aware that the state of New York is doing blatant wage theft.

Recently, a new contract was agreed upon that did include raises that required said back pay. As it turns out, they are only sending back pay to *current* employees. If you are no longer an employee, you don't get the back pay even though the new contract covers those years you worked. :)