DC 37 Residency Compromise Near;

'Very Close' With Council
DC 37 Residency Compromise Near


The 1-1/2-year residency bill standoff between the City Council and District Council 37 appears to be headed toward a resolution, with the union finally agreeing that workers can't live outside the five boroughs until they've spent some time on the job, THE CHIEF-LEADER has learned.

LILLIAN ROBERTS: Flexibility breaks ice.

"We're very, very close, and I'm optimistic we'll be at a place where the union and the Council's leadership will feel comfortable in the near future," said Council Speaker Christine Quinn during a Feb. 21 appearance before the AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council.

Incumbents Can Go Now

Under the compromise, current members would be permitted to live in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, and Putnam counties - a right already extended to uniformed employees and Teachers. But new members would need to remain in the city for several years, a source said.

DC 37 Political Action Director Wanda Williams told executive board members Feb. 13 that the union had met with the Council's "technical" staffers to discuss a compromise, several officials who attended the meeting said.

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James VERY, VERY CLOSE: District Council 37 and the City Council are putting the final touches on a long-awaited deal on a residency requirement for members. 'I can tell you that we've moved from a place where we were almost at a stalemate,' said Council Speaker Christine Quinn. 'I think we are very close to a compromise that we will be able to get passed in the near future.'

Council Members said negotiations were not finalized, but discussions were focused on how much time an employee had to live and work in New York. "If DC 37 says okay to three years," said Councilman Robert Jackson, "I, as a member who was opposed, I could support that. My issue wasn't about people leaving. It is about maintaining employment opportunities for the people of New York."

The original bill was bottled up by the more-than 20 Council Members who cited similar concerns as Mr. Jackson, who co-chairs the Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus.

Floated Test Break

They suggested amending the legislation to require new workers to live in the city for a set period of time or to give city residents five points' credit on job exams, just as cop, Firefighter, and Sanitation Worker candidates currently receive, as part of any legislation easing residency rules.

The Bloomberg administration, however, has said that it is against implementing such a bonus for city-dwellers. DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts has also steadfastly opposed changing its negotiated agreement, which was announced in July 2006.

It is unclear what finally led to the behind-the-scenes compromise, which came after the union had spent the past several months protesting the issue at every full Council meeting.

DC 37's contract is set to expire March 2 and the union has a legislative breakfast scheduled Feb. 27.

"They realized that something had to be negotiated," one insider said last week, referring to the union.

A Touchy Subject

Speaker Quinn acknowledged the bill has been a "very controversial" issue. "A lot of members [have] been very, very opposed," she told CLC delegates at a Union Square meeting.

The majority of the Council, she added, is opposed to current state law allowing the city's uniformed forces to live outside the city. "You're asking members to take a vote that goes against the positions most of them have had as it relates to fire and police," she remarked.

The city's correction officers, cops, firefighters, and sanitation workers can already live in counties surrounding the city. A significant portion of the police and firefighting forces consists of those who lived in the surrounding suburbs at the time that they were hired.

The amended bill is still being negotiated, Ms. Quinn said. "We've been having discussions, and I think we've made some forward motion," she remarked. "We're not at a place yet where we have a bill that deals with a residency compromise that I can tell you where we've crossed the t's and dotted the i's."

'No Longer Stalemated'

She added, "I can tell you that we've moved from a place where we were almost at a stalemate, honestly, to a place where we've having some very productive conversations and I think we are very close to a compromise that we will be able to get passed in the near future."

Ms. Roberts and Mayor Bloomberg highlighted changing the residency requirement at a press conference announcing the contract in the summer of 2006. 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 at the time.

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

Competition Concerns

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.

"I'm ready to have a hearing on this bill," he said last week, referring to the new legislation. "And I'm hopeful we can resolve any issues regarding Intro. 452."

DC 37 officials have argued that losing jobs to non-residents isn'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," said Charles Ensley, the president of Social Service Employees Local 371, last year.

The dispute has affected numerous other civilian unions that also negotiated eased residency requirements.

Members of the Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus have been particularly vocal against the original legislation, despite DC 37's threats to withhold campaign donations and future support.