Up Pay 13% In 4-Year Pacts Of Court Unions; Local 1070, 5 Others Also Win $1,950 Location Hike

By RICHARD STEIER

As this newspaper went to press April 21, a coalition of court unions was close to finalizing a four-year contract that would provide 13 percent in raises and other benefit gains.

DENNIS QUIRK: 'A good package.'

The deal also contains one potentially less-appetizing aspect, however: a cap on salaries at $115,000 for any employee who would reach that level over the course of the deal, which would only be lifted when Governor Paterson authorizes pay increases for judges. According to Lawrence Marks, the Administrative Director of the Office of Court Administration, this currently affects 220 employees represented by the nine unions in the coalition.

Top Judge Sues on Pay

The state's Chief Judge, Judith S. Kaye, two weeks ago filed a Federal lawsuit against state officials for failing to increase judges' pay for the past decade, leaving them at $136,700. The longtime link of judicial pay with the salaries of state legislators has stymied attempts to provide judges a raise even though Governor Paterson and leaders of both legislative houses have publicly endorsed such an upgrade.

CLIFF KOPPELMAN: 'Good deal for my people.'

The court-union coalition's chair, Dennis Quirk, emphasized the positive aspects of the accord, saying, "There's no zeroes or bonuses and the 3, 3, 3 and 4 are all pensionable, so it's a good package."

He was referring to the wage hikes in each year of the pact, which if ratified would run from April 1, 2007 through March 31, 2011. It would succeed a previous wage deal that began with an $800 bonus instead of a pay hike for its first year.

The raises are consistent with those granted to members of the two largest public-employee unions representing state workers, the Civil Service Employees Association and the Public Employees Federation, and with a deal reached earlier this month by Local 1070 of District Council 37 that established a court-union pattern.

No Cap for 1070

That deal, which Local 1070 President Cliff Koppelman said will be presented for ratification at a membership meeting May 5, does not include the $115,000 cap because none of the employees covered will earn that much. In fact, the local as part of its deal with OCA negotiated salary "floors" under which lower-paid employees would receive a flat cash increase rather than a percentage hike.

LAWRENCE MARKS: Pay cap a key element.

For example, the first-year hike, which is retroactive to April 1, 2007, would be 3 percent or $950, whichever is greater, meaning that employees earning less than $32,000 at the time would get the cash increase. The second-year raise, retroactive to the beginning of this month, would be 3 percent or $975; the April 1, 2009 hike, 3 percent or $1,000, and the final increase, effective April 1, 2010, would be 4 percent or $1,025.

Local 1070's court-system members are primarily clerical workers, but it also represents Court Reporters, Court Interpreters, Law Librarians, and Stenographers in the lower courts. "The contract is a very good deal for my people," Mr. Koppelman said.

Big 'Location' Bump

Another key element of its tentative deal, which would actually be retroactive to April 1, 2006, is a $1,950 increase in the location differential granted to members in recognition of the higher cost of living downstate. That would bring the total location payment to $3,252 for that year, with subsequent increases in each year of the pact bringing it to $3,697 a year by April 1, 2010.

The location increase had previously been negotiated for four unions in the court coalition: the COA, the Supreme Court Officers Association, and the ones representing officers in the court systems of Nassau and Suffolk counties. The tentative coalition deal, Mr. Quirk said, will provide that increase - also retroactive to April 1, 2006 - to the remaining members of the coalition, representing Court Attorneys, Court Reporters in State Supreme Court parts, Court Officers in Rockland and Westchester counties, and members of a Communications Workers of America local.

CCA, CSEA Deals Pending

OCA must still reach wage deals with two unions that bargain separately: the city Court Clerks Association, and the CSEA on behalf of the 6,500 court workers it represents upstate, which is the largest single bargaining unit in the system.

"We're very pleased that we've reached agreement with 10 of our 12 unions," Mr. Marks said.

The Local 1070 deal also increases the longevity bonuses paid to employees with at least 20 years' service by $150 over the course of the pact, so that 20-year workers would be getting $1,900 annually by April 1, 2010 and 25-year employees would receive $2,000 on that date.

The local was able to negotiate a 30-year longevity increment that would immediately begin at $2,000 and increase to $2,100 by April 1, 2010. OCA would also increase its benefit fund contributions for active members of Local 1070 by $125, to $1,280 annually, by the final year of the deal.