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Public Employee Press
Substantial payment expected in October, including $1,000 ratification bonus and retroactive raises for 2011, 2012 & 2013. Pay increases total 10.41% by Sept. 2016, with additional funds for bargaining units. Ratification ballots will be mailed July 21 and must be received by 9 a.m. Aug. 5.
By DIANE S. WILLIAMS After three days of intense negotiations capped by a final phone conversation between DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts and Mayor Bill de Blasio on the night of July 1, the union settled a new economic agreement for 100,000 city employees that will put about $3,600 in the pockets of average full-time members in October - including a $1,000 ratification bonus and retroactive pay raises - as part of its total 10.4 percent pay increase. "We are very proud of this contract. It's a fair deal in a tough economic climate," said Roberts as she shook hands with Labor Commissioner Robert Linn on the proposed 88-month $1.75 billion pact. "After four years without pay increases, our members will finally see their pay rising so they can start catching up with the cost of living." The tentative agreement would raise the pay of an average member from $42,581 in March 2010 to $47,011 in September 2016 (see box on page 5) and includes dramatic progress on civil service and other issues. Pay raises: Economic negotiations with the previous administration foundered when the union rejected the former mayor's refusal to provide retroactive pay increases and his insistence on substantial health premium payments by employees. But the new agreement includes retroactive, compounded 1 percent raises for 2011, 2012 and 2013 as well as the $1,000 ratification bonus (which is prorated for non-full-time employees), plus general increases of 1.5 percent as of September 2014, 2.5 percent in September 2015 and 3 percent in September 2016. (See box below.) Members can calculate their own salary increases and retroactive pay by using a new feature of the union's website, www.dc37.net. Contract vote: The proposed agreement was approved overwhelmingly by the DC 37 Negotiating Committee July 1, the Executive Board July 2 and the Delegates on July 8. The contract must be ratified by a vote of the union's members before it can be finalized and the city can begin processing the raises. The independent American Arbitration Association will conduct the vote by mail, with ballots going out July 21 and due by 9 a.m., Aug. 5. If you believe you are covered by the contract but do not receive a ballot by July 28, you should phone the AAA at 1-800-529-5218 or email UlerioS@adr.org. Civil rights, 1-in-3: The deal includes a trail blazing agreement that Roberts called "civil rights for civil service workers," with a high-level union-city committee empowered to call for improvements in recruitment and promotion policies to increase opportunities for women and minorities, who have historically been underrepresented in higher-paid positions. The team's recommendations could address management's use of the one-in-three rule that has blocked advancement for many qualified members. Health insurance: While recent labor agreements with New York State and other public sector employers have imposed and raised employee payments of health insurance premiums, the contract preserves DC 37 members' health coverage and welfare fund benefits without adding to their out-of-pocket costs. The May agreement on health care costs between the city and the Municipal Labor Committee, which Roberts co-chairs, made this huge achievement possible.
Additions to gross: The final 3 percent pay increase would apply to various additions to gross pay, such as uniform and equipment allowances, advancement and level increases and assignment and other differentials. Service Increments after two years and Recurring Increment Payments will continue to go up automatically with pay increases. Additional compensation fund: An additional 0.52 percent will be available for individual bargaining units to use to address unit-specific economic issues. Gainsharing: In a new provision, the agreement provides for labor-management initiatives that generate workplace savings to be used to increase members' pay. Among other uses, this "gainsharing" could come into play as the union works to replace outside contracts with in-house work, Due process for provisionals: The proposed contract also commits the city to address longstanding problems by seeking due process rights, which have already been established in mayoral agencies, for provisionals in the Health and Hospitals Corp., Housing Authority and Dept. of Education. Who is covered: The agreement covers employees in union job titles in mayoral agencies, HHC, the Housing Authority, libraries and cultural institutions, but does not apply to prevailing rate workers, City University employees, Urban Park Rangers, Traffic Enforcement Agents, uniformed Emergency Medical Service employees or Fire Protection Inspectors. Prevailing rate: The city agreed to offer the same wage increases to workers in prevailing rate groups that settled the 2008-2010 round of bargaining and to meet quickly with the prevailing rate groups that did not receive the previous two 4 percent increases. Salary review: During the negotiations, the city agreed to move ahead with resolving some items that were left unfinished in a salary review process set up under an earlier contract. Payment dates: Linn committed the city to paying the $1,000 bonus and the retroactive monies as soon as possible after members ratify the pact. The DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept. estimates that the Office of Payroll Administration could calculate and prepare the checks within 60-90 days after ratification, probably in October. The union will inform members as soon as definite payment dates are established. Union and city negotiators reached the handshake deal at 9 p.m. July 1 after several rounds of intense negotiations between Linn and the DC 37 Negotiating Committee, which is made up of the union's 53 local presidents and was led by Roberts, Research and Negotiations Director Evelyn Seinfeld and Associate Director Henry Garrido. Roberts and the mayor announced the agreement July 2 at a City Hall news conference. De Blasio said the deal was "long overdue" and cited the "four long years" employees had waited without raises while they "were treated to a lot of disrespect." He called DC 37 members "the glue that holds this city together," and praised Roberts for fighting passionately for them. The new contract, he said, "shows what respect and cooperation make possible." Roberts commended the new mayor for "treating us with respect throughout this process and working together to get this done." She pointed out that 42 percent of DC 37 members are female heads of household and said the groundbreaking Joint Recruitment and Promotion Committee "marks a new day for our union and Mayor Bill de Blasio." Funded initially with $150,000 from the city, the unprecedented union/management group is to review roadblocks to recruitment, retention and promotion - including the one-in-three rule - and make recommendations within six months to increase opportunities for minorities and women. The committee will also recommend new training and skills upgrading programs to DCAS and the DC 37 Education Fund to help members advance their careers. The committee will include four union representatives and four city representatives - the heads of the Mayor's Office of Operations, the Office of Labor Relations, the Office of Management and Budget and the Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services.
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