Council Cuts Off Road to Albany For Union Bills; Suspect Quinn Taking Mayor's Calls To Prevent Passage

By REUVEN BLAU

With the legislative session in Albany wrapping up last week, the majority of union-backed bills designed to enhance employee pensions, retirement opportunities, and title status were blocked by the City Council before they made it to the State Legislature.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT?: Several union leaders last week accused City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (right) of doing Mayor Bloomberg's bidding when she stymied efforts to gain home-rule messages that were needed for key bills to be acted on in Albany.

The dearth of home-rule messages issued by the Council this legislative session angered many union officials. In response, several last week blasted Speaker Christine C. Quinn, swearing off ever supporting her should she decide to run for higher office in 2009.

DEA: No Reason to Scrimp

"I'm very disappointed by the City Council's move to not issue home-rule messages on some of the union's bills," asserted Michael J. Palladino, the president of the Detectives' Endowment Association. "Especially with a five-billion dollar surplus; enhancing a few benefits goes a long way with the work force."

MICHAEL PALLADINO: Displeased with Quinn.

For police and fire officers, the Council failed to issue a home-rule message of support for legislation to amend the terminal leave benefit to include a monetary payment option. Other bills that were bottled up in the Council included an early-retirement bill that would allow civilian workers with 25 years of service who are 55 years old to retire with full benefits.

"In considering any home-rule message, the Council has to weigh whether it's a good policy, whether it's fair to workers, and what it costs the city," said Sandra Mullin, Speaker Quinn's communication director. "The Council is now undertaking a much more extensive review of home-rule proposals and will take these important questions into consideration as we examine their merits and decide whether to act on them legislatively."

Legislation that would have designated nursing jobs as "physically taxing" failed to gain Council backing as well.

CHRISTINE QUINN: Bottling union bills?

Nurses Blame Quinn

"We have a triple whammy here. Number one, the Speaker is a female; number two, this is an issue that the Speaker strongly supported a year ago; number three, they denied the State Legislature a chance to vote on it," asserted Nancy Kaleda, senior associate director for the New York State Nurses Association.

She called the Council's inaction "outrageous" and faulted Ms. Quinn. "We didn't get it because gender discrimination still exists in New York City," Ms. Kaleda charged, noting that her 7,000 city-based members are practically all women. "Occupations that are predominantly dominated by women do not have the same pension rights [as those] that are dominated by men."

The early-retirement measure was strongly supported by District Council 37, the city's largest public-employee union. The last such incentive for city and state workers was offered in 2002 when they were facing severe budget cuts. The incentive has traditionally been used to avert layoffs.

'Terminal' Bill Priority

The terminal leave bill was once again the main piece of legislation that the unions representing cops and firefighters were lobbying for this session. The measure is an issue those labor organizations have tried to address via collective bargaining and through legislation for years.

JIM SLEVIN: Can't persuade Mayor's Office.

The Bloomberg administration, however, has opposed the bill and other similar pieces of legislation, arguing that they will unnecessarily add to the city's pension and labor costs.

Sources said that they believe Mr. Bloomberg's legislative staff persuaded Speaker Quinn to block all the potentially costly measures, fearing that Governor Spitzer would sign the bills despite the city's opposition. "The Speaker is trying to play nice with the Mayor in case she runs for Mayor," said one union lobbyist.

Under the current terminal leave benefit, officers who work for 20 years are entitled to an average of two months of the earned time benefit, which essentially enables them to leave work for that period before retiring while still being paid. "Terminal" refers to the end of their careers.

Forsaken to Add OT

But many cops and firefighters have actually not been taking that time off before they retire because they want to work as much overtime as possible to increase their pensions, which are equal to 50 percent of their earnings over their final year on the job.

The city's law-enforcement unions backed a bill that will allow the officers to take a monetary payment in lieu of terminal leave time.

James Slevin, the Uniformed Firefighters Association vice president and legislative chairman, has repeatedly argued that the measure would actually cut costs for the Fire Department by encouraging veteran Firefighters to retire. "Because top firefighters are making almost twice as much as rookie Firefighters," he said during a June 19 phone interview from Albany, "the city automatically saves money by allowing them to have their terminal leave paid in cash as opposed to in time."

According to last year's fiscal note, the legislation would have cost the city approximately $375,000 in fiscal year 2006-07 and would increase to $750,000 by FY 2011-12.

Less OT Available Now

Mr. Slevin pointed out that the cost may be lower now because more firefighters have been using their terminal leave time recently with overtime scarce since the department is at full strength. "I think it's brought the cost of the bill down," he remarked. "There will always be some [firefighters] that will benefit from it and some that won't. It continues to be a priority for us."

Anthony Garvey, the president of the Lieutenants' Benevolent Association, argued that the legislation would provide an incentive for veteran officers to remain on the job. He said that he met with Council officials recently to lobby for the bill.

"Every time there's a new sheriff in town, the rules change," he said, referring to Ms. Quinn. "We may have to rethink our own strategy."

Advocates of the 25/55 early retirement measure made a similar argument, asserting that early-retirement offers eventually save the city money, because more veteran workers at top pay will retire and be replaced by employees who are paid far less money.

City Usually Opposed

Each year, the State Legislature passes a broad bill that gives every municipality the option of offering a retirement-incentive plan to its workers should the locality deem the move necessary. But city officials have traditionally only opted in when looking to cut costs during a fiscal crisis.

Last year, several versions of the 25/55 bill were passed by both houses. But they were all later vetoed by former Governor Pataki, who cited Mayor Bloomberg's opposition.

The main bill in 2006 was designed to allot two 90-day periods over the next two years to allow eligible employees to retire at half-pay pensions without penalty. The open window periods would vary depending on where the workers are employed. Currently, most civilian employees must work for 30 years and be 62 years old before they can retire with full benefits.

The city has long been opposed to such bills, contending that many veteran city workers wait until an incentive is offered to retire. Other older employees who take advantage of the incentive were planning to retire anyway, city officials have said.

No Extra Benefit

But the measure passed last year was designed to only reduce the age and years of service needed to retire without penalty and did not offer them an incentive, such as added service credit.

Previous incentives granted eligible employees an additional month of service credit for each year of work, up to a maximum of three additional years. The anticipated costs from such offers have been approximately 60 to 70 percent of the final average salary for each employee who elects to retire.

A fiscal note attached to last year's measure said that it would cost the city a total of $11.5 million, with a $5.7-million outlay to the New York City Employees' Retirement System, a $4.6 million cost to the Teachers' Retirement System, and a $1.2 million expense to the Board of Education Retirement System.

The "physically taxing" classification, which currently applies to titles such as Assistant Gardener and Pest Control Aide, would allow Nurses to retire as early as age 50 with 25 years of service.

NYSNA Cites Back Woes

The measure is being championed by NYSNA, which represents 6,500 registered nurses who work in city hospitals, clinics, and long term care facilities.

The union contends that nurses' jobs are physically demanding. Nearly 40 percent of Registered Nurses develop serious back injuries during their careers due to constant lifting and moving, NYSNA said. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurses run a higher risk of such injuries than carpenters or construction workers.

"We have not given up," Ms. Kaleda said. "Albany will be reconvening in July, but I don't see how a women's organization could support Speaker Quinn. She apparently forgot her principles of social justice."

Not all union-supported bills were blocked by the Council. "There were some innocuous ones that made it through," one source said.

One such measure allows EMTs or Peace Officers who transferred into the Fire Department after 2005 to get pension credit for the time they previously served.

"We were fortunate enough to have a home-rule pass this year," Mr. Slevin said. According to the measure's fiscal note, the bill would apply to 150 members of the Fire Department Pension Fund and would cost the city approximately $250,000 next year.

But the Bloomberg administration has contended that all increased pension benefits that would result from legislation should be mutually financed by the city and the union.

Fear of the Steamroller

Council insiders said they believe Mayor Bloomberg's staff persuaded Ms. Quinn to block the bills out of fear that Governor Spitzer would be more amendable to union legislation than his predecessor.

"There's always been a political dance that when the Council acts on a home-rule message, you know what the Legislature is going to do," said one source. "You always knew Pataki would veto it."

Governor Spitzer, however, has been less predictable. In May, he signed an executive order giving day-care workers the right to organize, despite Mayor Bloomberg's opposition. Previously, those workers had been classified as independent contractors.

The Council insider said that action showed Governor Spitzer wasn't afraid of signing legislation that the city was against due to projected costs. As a result, the Council has moved to block practically all home-rule messages before the bills reach the Governor's desk, according to the source. "It's clear that it has nothing to do with a specific piece of legislation," the insider remarked. "It's an overall strategy."

That stance has angered Mr. Palladino and other union officials. He recalled that Speaker Quinn emphasized the need to correct problems before they become major troubles after she was elected to lead the Council. "She said you have to fix the roof on a sunny day," he said, referring to her first public address as Speaker. "Well, the sun is shining now."

He added, "But they sure know how to fund-raise. I get fund-raising requests constantly. I'm going to revisit the way the DEA contributes to the City Council if this type of behavior is going to continue. Maybe campaign finance reform isn't such a bad idea after all."