Make Residency Stall an Issue In DC 37 Vote; Ensley Says Roberts Failed to Mobilize Council Support

By REUVEN BLAU

As District Council 37's residency bill languishes in the City Council, the issue has become a union election issue, with Executive Director Lillian Roberts's challenger, Charles Ensley, charging that it is just another example of her failed leadership.

CHARLES ENSLEY: A failure to close deal.

Ms. Roberts, however, continues to express optimism that the legislation will eventually be signed into law, despite the growing opposition to the bill in the Council. "I am confident that the residency bill will be passed," she said in a statement. She added that this provision of the contract was approved by all of the local presidents on the union's negotiating committee."

Sign of Internal Weakness?

Mr. Ensley, the president of Social Service Employees Local 371, supported that key provision in District Council 37's new contract. But he said recently that he couldn't understand why the union was having such a difficult time persuading Council Members of its merits.

"Once upon a time DC 37 was such a powerful labor organization that we wouldn't be having these problems," he remarked during a phone interview. "We would have a political action team skillful enough to get this legislation passed."

LILLIAN ROBERTS: Retains her optimism.

Several influential Council Members have voiced their opposition to the bill, which would allow DC 37 members to live outside the city, citing concerns that the measure will limit job opportunities for their constituents.

The issue affects numerous other civilian unions that negotiated eased residency requirements last summer.

Mr. Ensley blamed the union's political action committee for failing to sway the Council. "I would think that all of the members of the City Council are acting on their own beliefs," he commented. "Our part is to convince them. This is something that we negotiated in good faith with the city that should in fact be put into law."

Won't Help Most

By all accounts, the measure will affect only a small number of DC 37 members who can afford to move to six neighboring state counties, where real estate can be just as costly as it is in much of the city.

"The vast majority of DC 37 members can't afford to live outside," Mr. Ensley said. "In a real sense, it's much ado about nothing, but it does put us on equal footing with uniformed workers."

The city's correction officers, cops, firefighters, and sanitation workers can live in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Nassau or Suffolk counties.

Ms. Roberts and Mayor Bloomberg highlighted changing the residency requirement at a press conference announcing the contract in July. They noted that the old residency rule was signed into law in 1986 during the Koch administration, and was designed to add employment opportunities for local residents, bolster the city economy, and increase accountability for city workers.

Since that time, the union had argued, the cost of real estate has made it practically impossible for its members to purchase houses in the five boroughs. "I have plagued the Mayor to death about housing," Ms. Roberts said last summer.

Labor Chair's Concerns

But Joseph Addabbo Jr., the chair of the Civil Service and Labor Committee, has objected to the proposal because he believes that placing civilian employees on the same residency footing as their uniformed counterparts could leave city-based job-seekers at a disadvantage.

The more competition from outside the five boroughs, the tougher it is for city residents to snag jobs, Mr. Addabbo and many of his colleagues have noted.

Mr. Ensley, however, argued that wasn't really an issue for the majority of the civilian titles DC 37 represents. "I don't think thousands of white kids from the suburbs will be rushing to take jobs as nurse aides," he remarked.

Mr. Addabbo has said that the Council would entertain a modified version of the bill which would give people living in the city some type of exam bonus, just as individuals currently receive if they pass the Firefighter and Police Officer exams.

'Protecting Our Deal'

But the Bloomberg administration and DC 37 have opposed making such an adjustment to the proposal. "This is a collective-bargaining agreement," said Wanda Williams, DC 37's political action director, during a phone interview last month. "We are looking to protect the integrity of the agreement."

Asked whether he supported changing the legislation, Mr. Ensley responded, "One thing I have been hesitant to do is to inject myself into these conversations outside the union hall."

Mr. Ensley has contended that while Ms. Roberts has proven her skills as a political in-fighter, she has allowed the Council's external political clout to evaporate during her nearly five years in office.

"We should spend more time and effort electing candidates," he remarked. He has made the issue a central component of his uphill campaign to unseat Ms. Roberts.

Union insiders have pointed out that Ms. Roberts has a stronger record to run on than when she narrowly turned back Mr. Ensley's challenge in 2004. In appealing to DC 37 delegates prior to their voting Jan. 23, she has highlighted the wage gains in the contract.

"This election will be decided on the merits of my record as executive director," she stated. "A record that includes a fair contract with over 10 percent in wage increases, a generous contribution to the DC 37 welfare fund, and other benefits approved by 97 percent of the membership."

Takes Contrarian View

Mr. Ensley is unwilling to concede that Ms. Roberts secured good contract terms in July, even as other labor leaders described her deal as a vast improvement on the April 2004 pact she negotiated with the Bloomberg administration shortly after she was re-elected. He has argued that the 9.42 percent in raises over 32 months is unlikely to keep pace with inflation, and that the lack of givebacks under the deal is noteworthy only because of the concessions she made 33 months ago to help fund a 6-percent raise over three years.

Ms. Roberts pointed to a Bloomberg administration housing program under which union members are given preference in selection and mortgage assistance, saying it has "launched more than 1,100 city workers on the road to affordable housing."