PEP, December 2008: Members ratify contract

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

DC 37 members voted by nearly 98 percent to ratify the new two-year economic agreement that guarantees them a pay increase of more than 8 percent during the most severe economic downturn in decades.

Of the 103,506 ballots mailed out, more than 50 percent were returned and 50,886 — 97.9 percent — voted for the contract while 872 voted no. The impartial American Arbitration Association ran the vote process and counted the ballots Dec. 8 at its Manhattan headquarters.

“We listened to our members’ needs, and their overwhelming vote for the new economic contract indicates that we met them,” DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts said. “At a time when so many people are very worried about their jobs and family budgets, the dedicated, hard-working city employees in District Council37 can feel happy and proud about this contract.”

Members echoed her feelings.

“In this economy with people losing jobs, we are getting a raise. This is a great contract!” said Local 420 member Poonam Montuoro, a Patient Care Associate at Elmhurst Hospital.

Tentative pay dates
	The target pay date for the new contract's first 4 percent salary increase, including overtime and retroactive pay, is Feb. 20, 2009, at mayoral agencies. The RIP rate and retroactive increases associated with the RIP are expected March 6. The agencies aim to implement the March 3, 2009, 4 percent wage hike, including overtime and retroactive pay, on April 3, 2009. The second RIP increase and RIP retro are set for April 17, 2009. At the Housing Authority, the first wage increase, including retroactivity and overtime, is expected Feb. 27, 2009. The RIP increase and RIP retro are set for March 13, 2009. The pay date for the second wage increase is scheduled April 10. Retroactive pay, the RIP increase and the RIP retro are expected April 24, 2009. For Health and Hospitals Corp. employees, the tentative pay date for the first wage hike is Jan. 23, 2009. The RIP increase and retroactive pay on the RIP increase is expected in March 2009. HHC hasn't yet set a date for the second wage and RIP increases. Department of Education - E bank (hourly) employees receive the March 3, 2008 rate increase and retro on February 19, 2009 and the March 3, 2009 rate increase and retro on April 2, 2009. H bank (annual) employees receive the March 3, 2008 rate increase and retro on February 20, 2009, and the March 3, 2009 increase on April 3, 2009. Unit agreements must be approved for the second salary increase to go into effect. The union is pressing the NYC Transit, cultural institutions, libraries and other employers to implement the raises as soon as possible.

Call Center Representative Francis Pugliese, a member of Local 1549, said the contract “gives us a good, fair raise that’s larger than they are getting in the private sector.”

The union and city concluded talks on Oct. 30 after negotiating for a year. Roberts led the bargaining with Research and Negotiations Director Dennis Sullivan and the Negotiating Committee, which is made up of the union’s 56 local presidents.

Pay increases over 8 percent
The contract provides for a 4 percent increase retroactive to March 3, 2008, and an additional 4 percent on March 3, 2009. With compounding, the value of the raise amounts to 8.16 percent for over 100,000 members covered by the contract. The agreement, which doesn’t call for any givebacks, lasts from March 3, 2008, through March 2, 2010.

On the last day of the contract, the wage increases will be applied to “additions to gross,” which include payments such as assignment differentials, longevity increments and uniform allowances.

In addition, for titles that get Recurring Increment Payments, the contract increases the RIPs by the percentage of the wage hikes.

The combination of the wage hikes and the increases in RIPs and additions to gross brings the total value of the pact for workers to 8.26 percent.

“We worked very hard to achieve a contract that preserves our health and other benefits, maintains the terms of the previous contract and provides fair raises during tough economic times,” Sullivan said.

The contract covers members at mayoral agencies, the Health and Hospitals Corp., the Housing Authority, libraries and cultural institutions. It does not cover state and prevailing wage employees, workers at the Emergency Medical Service, the City University of New York, School Construction Authority, New York Law School, Institute of Ecosystem Studies, One Source and Renaissance/Charter Schools, and TBTA Maintainers.