Offers 9.42% Raise

DC 37 Pact Gets Strong Approval

By RICHARD STEIER

District Council 37's members have overwhelmingly ratified a new contract that provides 9.42 percent in raises over 32 months, offers a major infusion of cash to the union's welfare fund, and permits them to live in six nearby counties outside the five boroughs.

LILLIAN ROBERTS: A vote of confidence.

The 53,773 to 1,740 vote in favor, which was announced Aug. 25, was no surprise. Despite some objections, primarily by a few local leaders who are frequently at odds with DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts, the terms of the deal had been hailed by most local presidents and rank-and-file members since they were announced six weeks ago.

Roberts Thrilled

Ms. Roberts said in a statement, "The members' vote validates the hard work of the negotiating committee and gives us an agreement we can build on for the future."

The pact also expands the TransitChek program to allow DC 37 members to purchase discount fare cards for the Long Island Railroad, Metro North, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Long Island Buses using pre-tax dollars via payroll deduction. Until now, the program only covered fare cards for the city's subways and buses.

Money equaling .34 percent will be devoted to addressing special salary needs in addition to the basic wage hikes, which are 3.15 percent retroactive to July 1, 2005, 2 percent effective Aug. 1, 2006, and 4 percent as of Feb. 1, 2007. The first two raises should be reflected in employee paychecks by October, and the retroactive money from those hikes will be paid no later than November.

Welfare Fund Boosts

Retroactive to July 1, the Bloomberg administration will make a $100-per-member contribution to the DC 37 welfare fund. On Nov. 1, it will provide a non-recurring payment of $166.67 apiece for all DC 37 members and retirees to the welfare fund, bringing the total infusion of cash to about $40 million.

The deal also creates a labor-management subcommittee to explore the feasibility of a new pension tier for future employees that would be less generous and may require them to work longer than the current Tier 4 plan for members hired during the past 30 years.

A separate subcommittee will study whether salaries need to be raises in some titles represented by DC 37 because of recruitment and/or retention problems.