Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Lillian Roberts, Executive Director of District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, today announced that a tentative contract settlement has been reached with District Council 37 (DC 37) on a collective bargaining agreement covering the two-year period from March 3, 2008 through March 2, 2010.  The proposed contract conforms to the financial parameters of the collective bargaining settlements recently reached with several other unions.  The agreement, which is subject to ratification, includes annual four percent increases in compensation and covers over 100,000 employees in mayoral agencies, the Department of Education and the Health and Hospitals Corporation.

"I am pleased that by listening to each other and working together, our Administration and DC 37 have been able to come up with a good, fair, contract that rewards the everyday heroes who keep New York running morning, noon, and night," said Mayor Bloomberg. "We look forward to working cooperatively with District Council 37 - and the entire Municipal Labor Committee - on efforts to identify potential savings in areas such as the City's health insurance program and pension systems.  We remain open to suggestions that DC 37 may recommend in any other areas such as bringing contracted work back in-house."

"DC 37 has always been a responsible union," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. "We clearly understand the practical reality of bargaining in difficult fiscal times. A contract that provides two four percent increases over the course of two years is a significant victory for the 100,000 DC 37 members who are covered by this contract. I want to thank Mayor Bloomberg, Labor Commissioner Hanley and their entire team for working with the DC 37 to achieve what I regard as a sound contract for these very difficult times."

The principal features of the settlement are:

• 4%, effective March 3, 2008
• 4%, compounded, effective March 3, 2009

The Mayor thanked Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler, DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts and her Committee, Labor Commissioner James F. Hanley and First Deputy Commissioner Margaret M. Connor and their team, and Budget Director Mark Page and his staff for their efforts in reaching this agreement.