Local 237 Reaches Contract With City For Two 4% Raises; Matches Police Hikes But Not Benefit Gains; May Set Civilian Pattern
By RICHARD STEIER
Teamsters Local 237 and the Bloomberg administration have agreed to a new wage contract that provides two 4-percent raises and another quarter-point in special compensation under a two-year, 13-day deal.

GREGORY FLOYD: 'A timely deal in a tough climate.'

The accord, which was expected to be officially announced at a City Hall press conference Sept. 16 — the day this newspaper hits the stands — could serve as a pattern for other civilian union bargaining.

'First Time On-Time in Years'

Local 237 President Gregory Floyd, who confirmed the terms after being contacted by a reporter, said the agreement, which took effect Sept. 13 and will run through Sept. 25, 2010, marked "the first time in as many years as I can remember — at least a decade — that we've had a deal on time."

He was willing to be a potential pattern-setter in his first contract negotiation with the Bloomberg administration since becoming Local 237's president, he said during a Sept. 12 phone interview, for several reasons.

MAYOR BLOOMBERG: A civilian wage pattern?

A prime one, Mr. Floyd said, was that the wage increases match those agreed to by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association a month ago for the final two years of its tentative four-year pact. Coupled with the additional compensation money, which is being funded by a combination of the 13-day extension of the contract and a shift of payment dates by the union, the terms were markedly superior to some recent contracts where Local 237 was also forced to accept givebacks, he pointed out.

Cites Economic Climate

Timing also made a difference, he said, both in delivering a deal just as the previous union contract expired and in considering the worsening fiscal climate, both locally and around the nation. "The economy is tanking," Mr. Floyd said, citing the record losses announced by Lehman Brothers last week and the collapse of Bear Stearns as two examples of Wall Street's woes, which in turn means the city will be squeezed by reduced tax revenues from the financial services industry.

The .25 for additional compensation that is provided at the end of the second year of the contract can be used however the union chooses, although one official familiar with the deal said it seemed likely it would be deployed primarily to improve salaries in titles where employees are considered underpaid compared to similar workers in the private sector.

Local 237 also opted to defer a scheduled welfare fund increase to generate more money for that fund later in the contract without adding to the Bloomberg administration's costs.

Improved Wages, 'Fringes' Lag

It is not clear how well the deal will be received by other civilian unions. Earlier this summer, District Council 37, which with 125,000 members is more than five times the size of Local 237, was angered when the Mayor's chief negotiator, James F. Hanley, told officials that he could not go beyond offering them wage increases of 4 and 3.5 percent.

The union had insisted on the same pair of 4-percent increases negotiated for a corresponding period by the Sergeants Benevolent Association under a deal reached in July 2007.

That SBA deal, which laid the foundation for the PBA accord which is now awaiting membership ratification, also provided a significant increase in fringe-benefit gains — roughly 3 percent over the final four years of the deal. DC 37 is known to be seeking a pro-rated equivalent of that money — about 1.5 percent over two years in benefit improvements beyond salary, well above what Mr. Floyd negotiated. It remains to be seen whether it will soften its position now that the city has been willing to give another civilian-employee union the same wage hikes that were granted to those representing cops.