Probation Union Gets 3.25% Hike In 1-Year Deal

By REUVEN BLAU

DOMINIC COLUCCIO: 'No downside to deal.'

The United Probation Officers' Association and the Bloomberg administration have agreed to a tentative wage contract providing a 3.25 percent raise for slightly more than a year.

The proposed deal, which does not involve any health care, pension or work scheduling givebacks, is similar to the last year of the United Federation of Teachers contract negotiated for this round of bargaining in October 2005.

No Givebacks At End

That deal provided Teachers 15 percent in raises over a 52-1/2-month period but also required them to work three extra days, extended workdays, and limit transfer rights. But those concessions were used to finance the contracts' raises for the first 40 months of the accord.

UPOA President Dominic Coluccio called his union's tentative agreement a fair deal "considering everything that's going on." The UPOA represents approximately 800 city Probation Officers.

The proposed collective-bargaining agreement runs retroactively from April 1, 2005 to April 11, 2006. "It's a win-win for everybody," Mr. Coluccio said, noting that the union plans to begin negotiating another contract soon. "There is no downside with anybody."