IT`S A DEAL: DC 37 ContraCt!

37
District Council
AFSCME
AFL-CIO
juLY-AUGUST 2014
Volume 55, No. 6
www.dc37.net
PEP photo by Clarence Elie-Rivera
IT’S A DEAL: DC 37
Executive Director
Lillian Roberts
shakes hands
on new contract
with city Labor
Commissioner
Robert Linn July 1
at the conclusion
of economic
negotiations for
100,000 members.
Contract!
No givebacks
Ratification bonus $1,000 (pro-rated for part-timers)
Pay increases total 10.41%
— Pages 2, 3, 5
Retroactive raises for 2011, 2012, 2013
Vote YES on our new contract
A fair deal in a tough economy
By LILLIAN ROBERTS
Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO
A
fter four long, hard years of no
pay increases while the price of everything we have to buy kept going up, our
new contract means DC 37 members
will finally see their income rising so
they can start catching up with the cost of living.
We stood strong in these negotiations, and we
brought home a fair deal for our members in a
tough economic climate.
The proposed contract will raise our salaries
by more than 10 percent by September 2016,
and members will get substantial payments by
late October or early November of this year — a
combination of the $1,000 “signing bonus” and
retroactive raises for 2011, 2012, and 2013 —
adding up to about $3,600 for an average member
who was making $42,581 in 2010.
And we made major strides toward justice on
some non-economic issues.
At just the right time, while the Long Beach
court decision forces the city to eliminate provisionals in thousands of upper-level positions,
this contract marks a new day for our union
and Mayor Bill de Blasio by opening the door
to promotions in a fairer way than ever before.
For the first time ever, the city has agreed to
work with a union to study and eliminate unfair
barriers to career advancement. Our agreement
creates a committee on recruitment and promotion made up of top administration officials
with equal union representation. This group will take a sharp look at
the impact of the one-in-three rule that has let management unfairly
bypass so many of our members for promotions.
The agenda will be civil rights progress in civil service as this
team focuses on advancement opportunities for the minority and
women workers who have been historically underrepresented in
upper-level city jobs.
This pact truly opens a new era in labor relations for this city, because
it was negotiated with a focus on working out our differences in a spirit
of mutual respect between the city and our committee. I believe this
new tone stems from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s understanding of the hard
work and dedication of our members in providing the vital services that
keep this great city running and his deep respect for working people.
During our last night at the bargaining table, we reached a point
where we weren’t making progress. I telephoned the mayor, and he
came through for our members. He didn’t give us all we wanted, but
he agreed to what we needed.
You can read all the details on the following pages of this newspaper,
but I have to give you an important warning: This contract will only
take effect, and the listed pay raises will only become real money in
our pockets, if you, the members of DC 37, vote for it.
Your Negotiating Committee, Executive Board and Delegates all
voted overwhelmingly in favor of the agreement, but in our democratic
union it is only the vote of the membership that can give the final okay
to a contract. You will get your ballot in the mail.
Be sure to vote YES to ratify this economic package, and be sure to mail back your ballot.
Getting this contract was no easy task. The
Nego­­tiating Committee, made up of the presidents of every local, showed tremendous dedication. Early in the morning and late at night,
they persevered. They showed the intelligence
to compromise when that would bring gains for
members, and they showed fortitude when they
needed to stand firm. Associate Directors Henry
Garrido and Oliver Gray, Research and Negotiations Director Evelyn Seinfeld and General
Counsel Robin Roach constantly provided the insight, analysis and
leadership the committee needed. On behalf of our 121,000 members,
I thank them all for their help in achieving this contract.
The most important element in this tremendous victory was the
strength and patience of the membership of DC 37. We waited a long
time for this contract, we fought hard for it, and the fruit of our labor
is a contract we can all be proud of.
”
Our new
contract means
members can finally
start catching up
with the cost
of living.
”
The PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PRESS (ISSN 0033-345X) (USPS 449200) is published
monthly, except for combined issues in July/August and October/November by District
Council 37, American Federation of State, County and ­Municipal Employees, AFLCIO, at 125 Bar­clay Street, NYC 10007. P
­ e­rio­dicals postage paid at New York, N.Y.,
and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send all address changes
to Public Employee Press at 125 Barclay Street, New York, New York 10007 (Room
730). Telephone: 212-815-1520.
2
Public Employee Press
Bill Schleicher, Editor
Gregory N. Heires, Sr. Associate Editor
Michael Lee, Managing Editor
Alfredo Alvarado, Associate Editor
Diane S. Williams, Associate Editor
Clarence Elie-Rivera, Photographer
Elroy Dobson Jr., Assoc. Art Director
Joseph Lopez, Editorial Assistant
Lillian Roberts, Executive Director • Eddie Rodriguez, President
Cliff Koppelman, Secretary • Maf Misbah Uddin, Treasurer
Executive Board
Robert D. Ajaye, Dilcy Benn, Carmen Charles, Santos Crespo Jr., Sirra J. Crippen, Michael
DeMarco, Cuthbert B. Dickenson, Juan Fernandez, Jon Forster, Jonathan H. Gray, Robert
K. Herkommer, Dennis Ifill, Eric Latson, Dishunta Meredith, Israel Miranda, Eileen M. Muller,
Deborah A. Pitts, Walthene Primus, Joseph Puleo, Alma Roper, Jackie Rowe-Adams, Peter
Stein, James J. Tucciarelli, Esther (Sandy) Tucker, Anthony Wells, Rochelle Mangual
Public Employee Press, July-August 2014
Contract covers 100,000
Substantial payment expected in October, including $1,000 ratification bonus and retroactive raises for
2011, 2012 & 2013. Pay increases total 10.41% by Sept. 2016, with additional funds for bargaining units.
Ratification ballots will be mailed July 21 and must be received by 9 a.m. Aug. 5.
Surrounded by union leaders July 2 at City Hall, DC 37 Executive
Director Lillian Roberts and Mayor Bill de Blasio announce new contract.
Contract summary on page 5
The tentative agreement would raise
the pay of an average member from
$42,581 in March 2010 to $47,011 in
September 2016 (see box on page 5)
and includes dramatic progress on civil
service and other issues.
Pay raises: Economic negotiations
with the previous administration foundered when the union rejected the former mayor’s refusal to provide retroactive pay increases and his insistence on
substantial health premium payments
by employees. But the new agreement
includes retroactive, compounded 1
percent raises for 2011, 2012 and 2013
as well as the $1,000 ratification bonus
(which is prorated for non-full-time
employees), plus general increases of
1.5 percent as of September 2014, 2.5
percent in September 2015 and 3 percent
in September 2016. (See box below.)
Members can calculate their own sal-
By DIANE S. WILLIAMS
fter three days of intense
negotiations capped by a final
phone conversation between
DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts and Mayor Bill de Blasio
on the night of July 1, the union settled
a new economic agreement for 100,000
city employees that will put about
$3,600 in the pockets of average fulltime members in October — including
a $1,000 ratification bonus and retroactive pay raises — as part of its total 10.4
percent pay increase.
“We are very proud of this contract.
It’s a fair deal in a tough economic climate,” said Roberts as she shook hands
with Labor Commissioner Robert Linn
on the proposed 88-month $1.75 billion pact. “After four years without pay
increases, our members will finally see
their pay rising so they can start catching
up with the cost of living.”
A
Payment expected in October 2014
Salary
Ratification
Bonus
(prorated for part-time)
$30,000
$1,000
$40,000
$1,000
$50,000
$1,000
Retroactive Raises
Total
$1,812
$2,416
$3,020
$2,812
$3,416
$4,020
(2011, 2012, 2013)*
(does not include retroactive payment due on overtime or night shift differential)
Source: DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept.
Public Employee Press, July-August 2014
No givebacks
Ratification bonus $1,000 (prorated for part-time workers)
Pay increases total 10.41% with retroactive raises for 2011, 2012,
2013 in 88-month contract (March 2010-July 2017)
Additional funds for bargaining units
Health & welfare benefits maintained at no additional cost to members
Top-level labor-management committee to address favoritism and
inequities in promotions — including the one-in-three rule — and
expand promotional opportunities
Agreed labor-management initiatives that generate workplace savings
can increase members’ pay
City to seek due process rights similar to mayoral agencies for provisionals in HHC, DOE and NYCHA
ary increases and retroactive pay by using a new feature of the union’s website,
www.dc37.net.
C ontract vote : The proposed
agreement was approved overwhelmingly by the DC 37 Negotiating Committee July 1, the Executive Board July 2
and the Delegates on July 8. The contract
must be ratified by a vote of the union’s
members before it can be finalized and
the city can begin processing the raises.
The independent American Arbitration Association will conduct the vote by
mail, with ballots going out July 21 and
due by 9 a.m., Aug. 5. If you believe you
are covered by the contract but do not
receive a ballot by July 28, you should
phone the AAA at 1-800-529-5218 or
email UlerioS@adr.org.
C ivil rights , 1- in -3: The deal
includes a trailblazing agreement that
Roberts called “civil rights for civil service workers,” with a high-level union-
city committee empowered to call for
improvements in recruitment and promotion policies to increase opportunities
for women and minorities, who have
historically been underrepresented in
higher-paid positions.
The team’s recommendations could
address management’s use of the one-inthree rule that has blocked advancement
for many qualified members. Health insurance: While recent
labor agreements with New York State
and other public sector employers have
imposed and raised employee payments
of health insurance premiums, the contract preserves DC 37 members’ health
coverage and welfare fund benefits without adding to their out-of-pocket costs.
The May agreement on health care
costs between the city and the Municipal Labor Committee, which Roberts
co-chairs, made this huge achievement
possible.
(Continued on page 5)
New salaries under proposed contract
Effective Sept. 3, 2014; Sept. 3, 2015; Sept. 3, 2016
2010
Salary
With ’11, ’12 & ’13 raises With 2.5%
and 1.5% raise 9/3/14 raise 9/3/15
With 3%
raise 9/3/16
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$31,373
$41,830
$52,288
$33,122
$44,162
$55,203
$32,157
$42,876
$53,595
Source: DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept.
3
Pact raises pay, adds funds for units
(Continued from page 3)
Additions to gross: The final 3
percent pay increase would apply to
various additions to gross pay, such as
uniform and equipment allowances, advancement and level increases and assignment and other differentials. Service
Increments after two years and Recurring
Increment Payments will continue to go
up automatically with pay increases.
Additional compensation fund:
An additional 0.52 percent will be available for individual bargaining units to use
to address unit-specific economic issues.
Gainsharing: In a new provision,
the agreement provides for labor-management initiatives that generate workplace savings to be used to increase
members’ pay. Among other uses, this
“gainsharing” could come into play as
the union works to replace outside contracts with in-house work,
Due process for provisionals:
The proposed contract also commits the
city to address longstanding problems
by seeking due process rights, which
have already been established in mayoral
agencies, for provisionals in the Health
and Hospitals Corp., Housing Authority
and Dept. of Education.
Who is covered: The agreement
covers employees in union job titles in
mayoral agencies, HHC, the Housing
Authority, libraries and cultural institutions, but does not apply to prevailing
rate workers, City University employees, Urban Park Rangers, Traffic Enforcement Agents, uniformed Emergen-
Exec. Director Lillian Roberts and Labor Comm. Robert Linn initial settlement.
cy Medical Service employees or Fire
Protection Inspectors.
Prevailing rate: The city agreed to
offer the same wage increases to workers in prevailing rate groups that settled
the 2008-2010 round of bargaining and
to meet quickly with the prevailing rate
groups that did not receive the previous
two 4 percent increases.
Salary review: During the negotiations, the city agreed to move ahead
with resolving some items that were left
unfinished in a salary review process set
up under an earlier contract.
P ayment dates: Linn committed
the city to paying the $1,000 bonus and
the retroactive monies as soon as possible after members ratify the pact. The
DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept.
estimates that the Office of Payroll Administration could calculate and prepare
the checks within 60-90 days after ratification, probably in October. The union
will inform members as soon as definite
payment dates are established.
Union and city negotiators reached
the handshake deal at 9 p.m. July 1 after
several rounds of intense negotiations
between Linn and the DC 37 Negotiating Committee, which is made up of the
union’s 53 local presidents and was led
by Roberts, Research and Negotiations
Director Evelyn Seinfeld and Associate
Director Henry Garrido.
Roberts and the mayor announced the
agreement July 2 at a City Hall news
conference. De Blasio said the deal was
“long overdue” and cited the “four long
years” employees had waited without
raises while they “were treated to a lot of
disrespect.” He called DC 37 members
“the glue that holds this city together,”
and praised Roberts for fighting passionately for them. The new contract,
he said, “shows what respect and cooperation make possible.” Roberts commended the new mayor for “treating us
with respect throughout this process and
working together to get this done.”
She pointed out that 42 percent of DC
37 members are female heads of household and said the groundbreaking Joint
Recruitment and Promotion Committee “marks a new day for our union and
Mayor Bill de Blasio.”
Funded initially with $150,000 from
the city, the unprecedented union/management group is to review roadblocks
to recruitment, retention and promotion
— including the one-in-three rule —
and make recommendations within six
months to increase opportunities for minorities and women. The committee will
also recommend new training and skills
upgrading programs to DCAS and the
DC 37 Education Fund to help members
advance their careers.
The committee will include four union
representatives and four city representatives — the heads of the Mayor’s Office of Operations, the Office of Labor
Relations, the Office of Management
and Budget and the Dept. of Citywide
Administrative Services.
summary: PROPOSED DC 37 ECONOMIC AGREEMENT
10.41% in compounded wage increases over contract term (March 3, 2010 to July 2, 2017)*
1. TERM OF CONTRACT – 88 months
2. $1,000 RATIFICATION BONUS
Lump sum payment payable upon ratification. Pro-rated for other
than full-time employees (pensionable, consistent with applicable
law).
3. COMPOUNDED WAGE INCREASES
1% - September 3, 2011
1% - September 3, 2012
1% - September 3, 2013
1.5% - September 3, 2014
2.5% - September 3, 2015
3% - September 3, 2016
Additions to Gross shall be increased by 3% effective
September 3, 2016.
4. RETROACTIVE PAY ON THE FIRST THREE WAGE INCREASES
Public Employee Press, July-August 2014
5. HEALTH AND WELFARE BENEFITS PRESERVED WITH NO
INCREASE IN OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS
6. ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION FUND OF .52% TO BE
DETERMINED BY EACH BARGAINING UNIT’S
NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE
Available on March 3, 2017 to be used for unit-specific needs.
7. WORKPLACE INITIATIVES/GAINSHARING
Jointly agreed upon initiatives that generate workplace
savings and increase compensation for members.
8. JOINT RECRUITMENT & PROMOTION STUDY COMMITTEE
High-level Labor-Management Committee to address favoritism
and inequities in promotions and appointments and
provide for greater promotional opportunities.
•Review the city’s selection process for promotions for
DC 37 titles, including the impact of the 1-in-3 rule on
women and minorities in DC 37 titles.
•Review DC 37 titles with limited promotional
opportunities to make recommendations to DCAS
regarding the need for promotional opportunities and/or
the establishment of new titles or levels if necessary.
Recommendations to be developed within six months of
ratification.
9. DUE PROCESS FOR PROVISIONALS
Immediately after ratification, the City shall make good faith
efforts to ensure due process protections for provisional
employees in the Department of Education, NYCHA and HHC
similar to the Citywide Agreement due process procedures.
10. CONTINUATION OF ALL OTHER TERMS OF THE
PREVIOUS ECONOMIC AGREEMENT
* Effective dates are different for some contracts
5