Public Employee Press

Local 1087 Radio Repair Mechanics get a 46% raise, back pay for 2002-08

Radio Repair Mechanics will receive hefty raises under the settlement of their eight-year fight to be compensated as well as their counterparts in the private sector.

In July, members of Prevailing Rate Employees Local 1087 voted 106-9 in favor of the settlement.

The 2002-2008 agreement will boost the workers' annual salary from $58,700 to $85,600, an increase of nearly $14 in the hourly rate.

The Comptroller's Office signed off on the agreement between the city and the union on Aug. 11. As PEP went to press, the union was discussing the dates for the rate increase and the back pay with the city.

Local 1087 President Manuel A. Roman Jr. expressed his relief that the long struggle had ended and that workers would finally receive decent pay increases.

Years ago, the workers opted to have their wages set through the complicated survey process overseen by the Comptroller. The survey concluded that the RRMs' compensation should be similar to Broadcast Engineers at ABC.

The city disputed the findings until after an administrative law judge backed the Comptroller last year, and then it finally agreed to settle with the union.

In addition to Roman the local's negotiating team included Local 1087 Executive Board member Derrick Caldwell, Trustees Mike Beck and Leon Simmons, Shop Steward Jon Willsten, Radio Repair Mechanic Steve Gelblat and the local's counsel Daniel Bright with assistance from Assistant Director David Paskin of the DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept. and Sr. Assistant General Counsel Steve Sykes of the DC 37 Legal Dept.

As the pay dispute dragged on for years, Local 1087 members struggled to deal with their frozen wages. They faced marital strife, foreclosure threats, and skyrocketing debts. Gelblat, the team's "number cruncher," and others in prevailing-rate locals believe the law governing the survey process should be amended to include teeth that would force the city to be more prompt in its decision to either comply with the wage determinations or go to court.

Under the settlement, Local 1087 agreed to accept fewer annual sick days (six days rather than 12) and less annual leave. While the Comptroller's Office specified the wage rate, it left it up to the union and the city to negotiate a settlement to match the economic value of the RRMs' benefits and the ABC engineers'.

Local 1087 members expect to receive back pay worth tens of thousands of dollars. Soon, the local hopes to initiate bargaining for a contract that will bring their members up to date with DC 37's current economic agreement, which covers 2008-10.