DC 37 Deal Lament

To the Editor:

It's time that the Civil Service Technical Guild of District Council 37 used its own collective-bargaining certificate.

Consider the latest DC 37 contract terms being offered, combined with our previous wage contract. In spite of city financial surpluses in the billions of dollars, the two combined contracts (excluding the previous givebacks) average just 2.84 percent per year over the 68-month period; when including the 3-percent givebacks and productivity demands, we got just a 2.24-percent yearly increase. Meanwhile, the other professional unions averaged nearly 4 percent per year for four years - including their givebacks and productivity increases.

The above 68-month compounded averages exclude this current contract's 0.34percent Additional Income Compensation to be given the last day of the contract - March 2, 2008.

By comparison, the other professional and uniformed unions are getting 1 percent or more per year than we are. They received from 15-percent to 17 percent over about 51 months; DC 37 is to receive 16.1 percent over 68 months. With these two wage contracts, we have not even received a standard cost-of-living adjustment - thereby losing buying power. We're getting 4 percent less when adjusting the contract timeframes. This is a loss of thousands of dollars from our Technical Guild members' pockets!

Again, Tech Guild Local 375 leadership failed to get a step-pay plan. Why? The local refused to use our bargaining certificate. After the last disastrous contract, our president promised to seriously consider using the certificate, but did not do so. After six years, this local's leadership has accomplished nothing in getting a Guild step-pay plan. Teachers have one; uniform services unions have one; and our own School Construction Authority members have one, but the rest of our members don't!

The "little extra" for our Tech Guild members being touted by our local, promised us after the DC 37 Mayor Mike endorsements, is to be brought to the Salary Review Committee with no guarantees. The Salary Review Committee (SRC) is not the final word on salary adjustments for our members due to the private-sector pay imbalance. The SRC can only make recommendations to the Contract Negotiating Committee. Recommendations can be ignored. What does it mean? If the SRC finds an imbalance but the city and the union cannot come to an agreement, no salary adjustments will be made.

The contract being offered is, at best, only marginal. The increase barely keeps up with the low end of inflation. In the New York City region, the Federal Government put inflation above 4 percent this year.

As professionals, our inflation-adjusted salaries and buying power are falling further and further behind. Just because there are no givebacks doesn't mean we should be thrilled with what we are being given, considering the city once again has a surplus - $4-5 billion!

Using our own bargaining certificate will allow us to remain affiliated with DC 37, but enable us to negotiate directly with the city, instead of through an organization comprised mostly of administrative office workers whose average annual salary is $30,000 or less, but whose voting bloc more than cancels out our votes.

What is wrong with us as technical professionals negotiating our own salaries, while still maintaining ties with DC 37? We have a number of smart and savvy technical professionals in our local. Why not use the talent we have? Why not fight for ourselves?

The Tech Guild professionals should be treated no differently than the other city professionals.

MITCHELL FEDER