By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

Two days after he won election as mayor of New York City, Michael R. Bloomberg visited DC 37 to meet with Administrator Lee Saunders and local leaders.

“I want to thank the Mayor-elect for reaching out to DC 37,” Mr. Saunders said Nov. 8 after emerging from the meeting with Mr. Bloomberg, who sought out the city’s labor leaders on their own turf after the election.

The visit evidenced the new mayor’s cordiality toward labor and his appreciation for the role of public employees.

“My style is my style,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “And I would hope that I have access to the people who represent the municipal workers, namely the labor leaders. And I want to make sure they understand they will always have access to me.”

Bloomberg added that his style consisted of “dialogue” without the burden of “protocol and ceremony in the way.”

While the new mayor did not answer questions from the media about union issues such as raises, contracts and job security, Bloomberg said labor leaders “may not get the answers they want, but I’m a believer in dialoguing. I am a believer in inclusiveness. I am a believer in being open.”

The self-made billionaire told DC 37 leaders as mayor he will “champion” public employees, who “need better compensation . . . so they can focus on doing their job.”

Challenge of rebuilding
One of Mr. Bloomberg’s greatest challenges as mayor will be the reconstruction of lower Manhattan in the face of the city’s deepening economic woes. He will also have to convince businesses to remain in or return to the Big Apple. Experts estimate the city will need more than $4 billion to repair its budget deficit, recover from the economic downturn that began before Sept. 11 and recoup the direct costs and lost tax revenue due to the WTC attack.

DC 37 helped New York City avoid bankruptcy in the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, and the role of labor in the city’s current economic predicament loomed in the background of the Nov. 8 meeting. Mr. Saunders had earlier stressed that DC 37 and other municipal unions expect to be treated as “full and equal partners in the rebuilding effort.”

Acknowledging that over 50 percent of the city’s operating budget goes to wages and pensions for city workers, Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Saunders agreed that municipal employees have a vested interest in the success of the city, its expansion, safety and growth.

“The fiscal health of this city,” Mr. Saunders said, “directly impacts District Council 37 members.”

As he slipped on a green DC 37 Everyday Heroes T-shirt, a symbolic gesture that expressed willingness to work with the union, Mr. Bloomberg said he appreciates the job city workers do to make this city better for its 8 million residents.

“Don’t underestimate this: This is an extremely important signal that the Mayor-elect is sending,” Mr. Saunders said. “He is reaching out to us, saying he wants an honest and open dialogue with DC 37 and the other unions that represent employees who work for this city.”

Saunders saw Bloomberg’s move as a “good first step in forming a partnership to rebuild this great city.”