Eye on Uniformed Terms
DC 37 Revs Up For Early Wage Talks

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

District Council 37's negotiating committee will begin meeting this week in the hope that early bargaining will result in a deal that matches the recent terms secured by several uniformed unions.

JIM TUCCIARELLI: 'We want what's out there.'

The DC 37 contract expires next March, and the union is taking the unusual step of holding negotiating committee meetings in the dead of August. The committee, comprised of local presidents and retiree representatives, received a memo titled, "Get Your Demands Ready." Its members were promised a breakdown of the terms of the March firefighters deal to examine.

'Start Talking in Fall'

"We have begun preparation for bargaining for a successor contract," DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts stated in an e-mail. "We hope to begin bargaining with the city in the early fall."

She declined to comment further, but union sources said that there had been discussion among officials about whether DC 37 could capitalize on the emergent uniformed pattern that has included 4-percent increases in the coming years plus additional funds which those unions have utilized for increased contributions to welfare plans, annuity benefits or longevity payments. Others said officials wanted to resolve the contract early so that the union could focus its energy next year on the 2008 Presidential election.

LILLIAN ROBERTS: An eye on early deal?

The United Federation of Teachers last fall settled 11 months before its contract expired with a deal that granted a 7-percent raise over two years, which runs through October 2009. The Teachers also got a $1,000 longevity differential for Teachers with more than five years of service.

In the past, DC 37 has set the broad pattern for city workers, and the uniformed unions have traditionally received slightly more lucrative deals.

EMS Locals Aiming High

The Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians and officers represented by Locals 2507 and 3621 of DC 37 are currently in negotiations and are hoping that the June Court of Appeals decision affirming their uniformed status will give them a boost. They recently asked the city to grant a $10,000 credit for an officer who has a Paramedic certification or an officer who has an EMT certification with 60 college credits.

"Our demands are very simple," said Local 3621 Uniformed EMS Officers Union President Thomas Eppinger. "We want a significant wage."

Meanwhile, the full DC 37 negotiating committee will meet twice in August and again on Sept. 6 with the hopes of presenting the union's bargaining demands to the September delegate's assembly for approval.

"You always want to get whatever's out there," said Local 1320 President Jim Tucciarelli. "You never expect to get less. You want the same or more."