Public Employee Press

Talks coming on new wage pact

The union and the city will meet this fall to begin negotiating a new economic agreement.

The latest wage pact, which provided two 4 percent pay increases, expired March 2, 2010, but its terms remain in effect until the a new contract is settled.

"The poor economy is hitting our union members hard," DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts said. "They deserve a reasonable pay increase, especially when the city gives outside contractors automatic annual increases."

The Negotiating Committee - the presidents of DC 37's 55 locals - has been meeting on strategy and demands, which the Delegates Council has approved.

The economic agreement covers about 100,000 DC 37 members at mayoral agencies, the Health and Hospitals Corp., the Housing Authority and cultural institutions. They got their last pay increase on March 3, 2009.

DC 37 faces a challenging bargaining climate as public service unions are coming under attack around the country and in the state.

Members of the Civil Service Employees Association, Local 1000 of DC 37's national union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, recently approved a five-year contract with a three-year freeze in base pay. The agreement averted 1,000 layoffs and helps Albany address its $10 billion deficit.

DC 37 will negotiate under more favorable conditions.

"The city ended last year with a surplus of over $3.5 billion, and it wastes $10.5 billion on contracting out," Roberts said. "The money is there. The issue is how to allocate it."