Other Civilian Unions Lukewarm on Terms Of Local 237 Pact

The tentative contract deal with Teamsters Local 237 that Mayor Bloomberg predicted would serve as a pattern for other civilian-employee unions drew a mixed reaction from officials at those unions, some of whom had hoped the fringe-benefit gains would equal those granted to the two largest police unions.

BILL HENNING: Deal seems to meet 237's needs.

The United Probation Officers Association quickly reached what were said to be similar terms to what had been agreed to by Local 237, although UPOA President Dominic Coluccio declined comment, saying he first had to present the deal to his board at a Sept. 24 meeting.

As this newspaper went to press Sept. 22, District Council 37 had its first bargaining session in two months with Bloomberg administration negotiators, and sought to obtain better terms than the two 4-percent raises and .25 in fringe-benefit gains provided under the Local 237 deal.

Wants Three 4s, More in Fringes

One source said the 125,000-member union asked for a three-year pact providing 4-percent raises in each year, as well as fringe-benefit increases significantly above what Local 237 accepted. Those would include additional compensation totaling 1.59 percent, payable in the 14th month of the deal, consistent on a pro-rated basis with what has been negotiated by two police unions under longer deals, and $100 per-member welfare fund increases in the second and third years of the contract.

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang A MAYOR OF TWO MINDS: Mayor Bloomberg, with Teamsters Local 237 President Gregory Floyd to his right as he announced their contract deal, said its terms 'establish the parameters' for civilian settlements, but also inserted an escape clause in his pronouncement by saying the city's ability to offer similar deals to other unions 'depends on how the chaos [on Wall Street] works itself out.'

DC 37 is also seeking an improved starting rate for new hires, who currently receive 15 percent less than the base salary for their titles during their first two years on the job. Under the union's proposal, new members would receive 10 percent less than the base pay for their first year, then advance to the regular salary for their title.

A meeting at which the city will respond to those demands has not yet been scheduled.

RANDI WEINGARTEN: 'A step toward stability.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sees Pluses and Minuses

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, whose current contract doesn't expire until next fall, said there were pluses and minuses to the Local 237 accord as it compared to the deal reached a month ago with the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

The fact that the raises matched those gained by the PBA — which made a four-year deal for which membership ratification ballots will be counted at the end of this week — Ms. Weingarten said, was "important, because it shows that the administration wants to create ongoing stability with no giveback contracts going forward for the next couple of years, even with the volatility on Wall Street."

Although the deal — which was officially announced Sept. 16 at City Hall — had been concluded several days before the events that included Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch being sold at a discounted price because of its fiscal problems and the Federal Government bailout of insurance giant AIG, the UFT leader said it was also significant that the Mayor went ahead with the announcement.

"The fact that they announced that contract this week with the same kind of pattern increases that you saw for the uniforms is a very important step," she said in a Sept. 19 phone interview.

On the other hand, the PBA deal also offered significant increases in fringe-benefit areas like longevity pay, and DC 37 had been seeking equivalent gains in those areas as well as on wage hikes prior to the Local 237 deal.

"Will some people be concerned that it doesn't fully mimic the uniformed services? Of course," Ms. Weingarten said. "But what Greg Floyd did was, he got a lot of things for his own members ... that have an equivalent value. That's what many of us have said is necessary for a diversion from pattern bargaining."

Got It While He Could

Mr. Floyd, the Local 237 president, referred to the financial industry problems during the press conference announcing the deal to explain why he thought it made sense to grab the 4-percent raises now rather than hold it for bigger fringe-benefit hikes as well.

"In hindsight, looking at what the situation is now ... we don't think this deal could have been possible [in the future]," Mr. Floyd said.

In a phone interview two days later, he noted that when Mr. Bloomberg began making budget reductions earlier this year rather than using a surplus from the past fiscal year to maintain services fully, it left the city in good-enough financial shape to afford the raises even as its tax collections figure to take a heavy hit because of Wall Street's plummeting fortunes.

"It's popular to be adversarial with [management]," he said, "but if you have fiscally responsible leadership, it can help you to get what you need for your members."

Bill Henning, a vice president of Local 1180 of the Communications Workers of America, said of Mr. Floyd's decision to make the deal before the deluge, "Given what's going on in the economy now, it was prescient of them to do it when they did it. I think it's commendable that unions step up to the plate and negotiate a contract rather than sit on their hands waiting for the DC 37 folks to do it and just sniping at it."

'A Good Deal'

Mr. Henning added, "I know this notion that you're never supposed to applaud what somebody else does, but I think it's a good deal, and it seems to meet their needs, and my suspicion is that the Teamster rank and file will overwhelming ratify it."

Local 237 member Richard Bondie seemed pleased with the contract, saying "I'm damn glad ... I was hoping [it would happen] this fast." He added that the Local's membership was broadly happy with the agreement. He said that when Mr. Floyd presented the terms at a Sept. 12 union meeting, "Everybody was unanimous. We were all happy as a pig in you-know-what," he said after the press conference.

But dissident Eunice Rodriguez, part of the school Safety Agents who make up 4,000 of the local's 9,000 municipal agency members, was not pleased with the terms of the deal, decrying it as a political move by Mr. Floyd to bring in a deal on time. "We already come into this contract way below, and he's running around beating his chest about this contract, he brought it in on time," she said. "I feel he's going to use this as a tool for his next election."

Suffers Alongside PBA Deal

Ms. Rodriguez, a past candidate for president of Local 237, criticized the relative lack of fringe-benefit gains, saying, "The Police Department got higher than we did, so [Floyd] can't compare their contract with our contract. If you compare their salary with our salary, their 4 percent means a lot more for them than for us." She also voiced concern over DC 37's upcoming negotiations. "I don't think we got a re-opener in our contract ... if DC 37 goes in and gets higher, how do we re-open our contract?" she asked.

Nonetheless, Ms. Rodriguez predicted that the local's members would ratify, as the strongest dissent came from the school safety agents, who are not a majority within the union. "[Mr. Floyd] had raised our expectations, especially with school safety. He had all along said he was going to bargain for us separately, because we have special needs, our salaries are so low," she said.