By LILLIAN ROBERTS
Executive Director
District Council 37, AFSCME

After our last meeting with city negotiators, I left the bargaining table disgusted and angry. Our whole Negotiating Committee, made up of DC 37’s 56 local presidents, is outraged. We know the money is there in the budget for a fair pay increase, but after many months of talks, the city has failed to make us an adequate offer.

I never bargain in the media, but I’ve had it and I am sounding the alarm. Our members are hurting. Every day as they struggle to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads and pay the bills, they feel the pain of an economy gone wrong.

Right here, right now, the City of New York has failed to answer our call for a reasonable contract settlement based on the pattern set by the city with other unions.

We have always been a responsible union. In the past, we have accepted contracts based on patterns set in negotiations with municipal unions. In fact, we have often led the way and set the pattern. But this round of bargaining is different. The city has chosen to establish a clear pattern, which they say is good enough for other civil servants but not for us. Why not?

All we ask is that the pattern the city has set in negotiations with other unions be applicable to us. The members of DC 37 represent 1,000 titles from Accountant to Zookeeper. Each one of us is vital to the quality of life in this city. The pattern would go a long way towards erasing inequities that currently exist. We deserve to be treated fairly and equally, and nothing less will do.

All city workers should be treated equally
Our talks with the city are in serious trouble unless management decides to respect us and the important work we do and to recognize our right to be treated equitably.

We have taken a close look at the budget to find out where the money is going. What we discovered are serous inequities in the distribution of funds. Since 2005 the city has increased contracting out to over $9 billion a year and shifted funds to the private sector. In many cases, they are doing the work of Civil Service titles that our members have had to qualify for through merit and fitness. They’re also receiving higher salaries. This not only wastes taxpayers’ money, it also makes public resources unaccountable to the public.

Beginning in 2002, DC 37 issued White Papers that uncovered a wasteful “shadow government” of consultants and outside firms feeding at the city trough. As a result, the city reduced contracting out from 2002 through 2005. Now the number of outsiders in our jobs is increasing again. We will not put up with it.

DC 37 serves as a watchdog of the city’s use of its resources. While elected officials hold office for no more than eight years, many of us devote our working lives to making this city run properly. We love our jobs and we’re ready to serve in any capacity, but we demand to be treated fairly, equally and with respect.

I am requesting another bargaining session with the city. After that, stay tuned for more details. We’ve had enough!