Public Employee Press

New DC 37 contract brings economic relief

Workers in Local 374 were eager for raises to help address their tight family budgets,
so the 8% agreement came at a crucial time.

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

As DC 37 stepped up its pressure on the city for the recently ratified economic agreement, members continued to worry about the daily struggle to support themselves and their families amidst an imploding economy.

So when DC 37 members learned about the settlement, many expressed relief that as the economic crisis deepens, they could at least look to an 8 percent raise over two years.

Many said they are especially happy that in these tough times the new contract preserves their health insurance, prescription drug and other benefits.

“We’ve reached agreement at a crucial moment,” said Cuthbert Dickenson, president of Quasi-Public Employees Local 374, who, as one of the union’s 56 local presidents, served on DC 37’s negotiating team.

You can say that again.

Unemployment is high and climbing. Millions of families are losing their homes in foreclosures. Credit is tight. Many economists say the current recession will be the most prolonged and painful since World War II.

Local 374 members interviewed before the new contract was settled expressed the same anxieties as working families nationwide who feel they are living on the edge of disaster amid the country’s greatest banking crisis since the Great Depression. In follow-up interviews, they indicated that the contract, which keeps up with the cost of living, came at just the right time.

“When I heard 8 percent, I said, ‘Wow!’ ” said Trefeld Jean-Louis, a Supervising Senior Camera Operator who earns $42,000 at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library of the New York Public Library at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.

He said the raises would significantly help address the financial pressure on his family. Catholic school tuition for his 8-year-old daughter Caitlyn is $5,000. The family pays $1,100 a month in rent, $1,500 a year for car insurance and $300 a month for after-school care. The economic squeeze on the family prompted Jean-Louis and his wife to scrap plans to take Caitlyn to Disney World this year.

“Now at least we will be able to plan our family budget,” Jean-Louis said.

Angel Hernandez said he voted for the contract, though adding that he could have used a higher raise. He said he considered the contract to be the best deal the union could expect in light of the dismal economy.

Hernandez, a Maintainer who does locksmith work at the library, struggles to support his wife, Kimberly, and the couple’s 10 children on a $45,000 salary. The family lives in a three-bedroom apartment, and they rely on their Section 8 support to meet their monthly rent of $1,500.

“It’s getting harder,” said Hernandez, in an interview with PEP before the contract settlement. In recent years, Hernandez said that he gave up his cell phone and borrowed from his pension to meet his family’s expenses. He moonlights regularly to bring some extra cash into the household.

Former Local 374 President Daniel K. Ryniec, a Gardener at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, said the 8 percent pay increase is particularly important to him as he approaches retirement.

At 51, Ryniec was hoping to leave the workforce at 55. “Like most working people, I’m worried about the economy. My wife and I have spoken about our situation, and I will probably have to work a few more years,” he said. “But the two fours will certainly help with our household finances and build up my base pay for the pension.”

“The new contract will provide economic stability for our members as the city and country face difficult times,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. “The collective bargaining agreement is the bread and butter of the membership, and it reflects the strength that workers can have when they speak with one voice.”