Wage Talks Begin
DC 37 Bids to End Lower Starting Pay

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

District Council 37 officials were expected to ask for a four-year contract with at least four-percent raises annually and the elimination of reduced starting salaries for new hires when they met with city negotiators on Oct. 16, according to union sources and documents.

LILLIAN ROBERTS: Good bargaining climate.

The union's current contract, which covers about 100,000 of DC 37's 121,000 members, expires on March 2, 2008. Union delegates last month approved a set of 20 demands to present to management, which include the creation of an annuity fund, increased welfare fund contributions and the establishment of citywide promotion lists.

Won't Talk About Talks

Union officials said they did not want the demands made public, asserting that it would interfere with the bargaining process. "We do not comment on negotiations," said spokeswoman Donna Silberberg, "and we regard it as a violation of basic union principles when someone does."

Officials who released the demands, which were distributed to the delegates before they voted, said they thought it was important for members to know what the union was asking for.

Executive Director Lillian Roberts told the union's newspaper, the Public Employee Press, that she thought there was a conducive climate for bargaining, noting a strong budget outlook and recent deals concluded with other city unions.

"Our priority is to win decent raises," said Ms. Roberts, "so that our members aren't falling behind or running in place like so many other workers in the country who are struggling with stagnating and falling wages."

The agreed-upon demands call for a "fair and livable wage increase." More specifically, one source said the union would ask for 4-percent raises in each of the first two years and a 5-percent increase in one of the final two years of the contract.

In March, the Uniformed Firefighters Association struck a two-year deal that gave members 4-percent raises annually. In July, the Sergeants Benevolent Association negotiated a deal that gave members raises totaling 24 percent over six years. Other uniformed unions have followed suit, getting about 4 percent per year.

Even Out Benefits

DC 37's last contract granted workers a 9.42-percent increase over 32 months.

In addition to wage hikes, DC 37 officials are demanding an end to the reduced hiring rate. In April 2004, the union negotiated a contract that allowed for a 15-percent decrease in starting salaries for two years. That concession built upon the previously existing 7.16-percent decrease for an employee's first year of service.

The demands also include an end to the reduction in benefits for new hires. Currently, new employees get fewer vacation days, sick days and one less floating holiday than current workers. They also have fewer hours for which they are eligible for a night differential.

Taking a page from the uniformed unions' playbook, DC 37 wants to institute an annuity payment from the city of $5 per day per member, or about $1,305 per year. Annuity funds allow workers to accrue money, tax-free, which they collect upon retirement. Unlike the uniformed unions, most civilian city unions do not have annuity funds.

Currently, city workers are only eligible for promotions, based on exam scores, to titles within their own agencies. A citywide promotion list, if established, would allow workers from different city agencies to advance if there was an opening in a title for which they were eligible, regardless of the agency.

The union is also asking for an unspecified transit benefit to be provided by the city, an increase in the welfare fund contributions for active members and retirees, and the maintenance of current health benefits. Union demands additionally include bereavement leave for grandparents and the ability for an employee to use sick leave for Family Medical Leave Act purposes. Officials also are hoping to get full-time per-diem employees with six months of service the same benefits as annual employees, and they want paid holidays and bereavement leave for part-time employees.