Mayor de Blasio and DC37 Announce Tentative Contract Agreement

July 2, 2014

Video is available here: https://youtu.be/NXc95RXtAHw

Agreement conforms to UFT pattern, marks landmark first contract with group that settled in 2008-2010 collective bargaining but has since been without new contracts; 60 percent of City workforce has now reached agreements

DC37, City agree to find additional workplace savings, increase recruitment and promotion of women and minorities; fiscally responsible settlement includes unprecedented health care savings 

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today that the City of New York has reached a tentative contract agreement with DC37, the City’s largest public employee union. Today’s announcement means that approximately 60 percent of the city’s workforce has now reached contract agreements or tentative contract agreements.

This tentative agreement with DC37’s over 100,000 impacted employees marks a landmark first contract with the group of unions that settled in the 2008-2010 round of collective bargaining but has been without new contracts since 2010. The pattern of today’s agreement is consistent with the City’s now-ratified contract with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT)—confirming and establishing that pattern as the basis for the other 120,000 city employees who also settled in the 2008-2010 round of collective bargaining.  

That confirmed pattern provides 10 percent in raises over seven years and a $1,000 ratification bonus, offset by significant savings.

The pattern incorporates the unprecedented, guaranteed and enforceable health care savings agreed upon with the Municipal Labor Committee, which make these raises responsible. Even after the City’s now-adopted budget factors in the pattern settlement for the first time, out-year gaps remain well below the historical average under prior administrations.

As part of today’s tentative contract, DC37 has agreed to extend its contract by four more months. The City and DC37 have also agreed to continue to find additional workplace savings, and will create a Joint Recruitment and Promotion Study Committee to focus on increasing recruitment, retention, and promotion of women and minorities in DC37 jobs. 

The proposed seven-year, four-month contract with DC37 would begin, retroactively, on March 3, 2010 and expire on July 2, 2017.

“DC37 members are the glue that holds this City together, from librarians and custodial assistants, to civil engineers and police administrative aides,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This landmark agreement marks another step toward restoring a productive and respectful dynamic between the City and its employees, while confirming a fiscally responsible pattern for this group of employees that have been without a contract since 2010. Now, over 60 percent of the City’s workforce has reached contract agreements. Thank you to DC37’s Lillian Roberts, Evelyn Seinfeld, Henry Garrido, and David Paskin for working with us to reach this agreement.”

“We have bargained with the de Blasio administration to secure the best possible deal for our members. A 10.41 percent raise over the duration of the contract, plus thousands of dollars payable to in ratification bonus and back pay, is a fair deal for our members in a tough economic climate. We bargained hard, as did the administration, to reach this agreement, and we commend the Mayor for treating us with respect throughout the process. We are delighted to see a Mayor who wants to address the problems of all New Yorkers. We think this agreement is a beginning for a new administration that is attempting to right the wrongs of the previous one. I am also happy that this agreement establishes the Joint Recruitment and Promotion Study Committee which, takes seriously the Civil Service System and will address the issues that have impacted the upgrading and promotions of minorities and women for quite a long time. This is last point is an historic one that has never been done before, and it is an issue that is close to my heart,” said District Council 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts.

Under the tentative agreement announced today, DC37 employees would receive raises of 10 percent over the first seven years (which, compounded, total 10.41 percent) and 0.52 percent over the four-month contract extension.

The MLC and the City have agreed to secure $3.4 billion in health care savings through Fiscal Year 2018, and $1.3 billion in recurring savings every year thereafter. The City and the municipal unions will work to secure cost-cutting measures, aimed at bending the curve of rising health care costs for the first time. These savings are guaranteed and enforceable by arbitration.

The gross cost of the tentative DC37 settlement is $1.75 billion; after the guaranteed health care savings, the net cost will be $955 million.

That cost and the additional benefits agreed upon with DC37 will also be fully funded within the pattern settlement and requires no new funding over previous budgetary projections.

The terms of the agreements must be approved by DC37’s membership.

DC37’s over 100,000 impacted employees have worked without a contract since 2010. This agreement follows a number of other major settlements with municipal labor unions, making good on the Mayor’s pledge to restore a productive and respectful relationship between the City and its workforce.

Key Reforms and Improvements

Today’s tentative agreement includes the following reforms and improvements, which are fully covered by the pattern settlement:

• Joint Recruitment and Promotion Study Committee (R&P Committee): A new committee, consisting of DC37 members and City representatives, will make recommendations on how to increase recruitment, retention, and promotion of women and minorities in DC 37 jobs, in which these groups have historically been underrepresented. The R&P Committee will also look at more effective ways to use existing training funds and align City and DC37 efforts to prepare DC37 members for promotion. The R&P Committee will submit preliminary recommendations in six months. It will also be able to retain experts to assist with data collection and analysis; the committee will also draft a final report.

• Gainsharing to Generate Workplace Savings: The City and DC37 have agreed to continue to identify, review, recommend, and develop initiatives that will generate workplace savings, maximize the potential of the City workforce, and ensure the provision of essential services, while also allowing for increased compensation for the workforce. The parties will conclude discussions on this issue no later than 24 months after the date of contract ratification.

• Improvements for Provisional Employees: The City will make a good faith effort to ensure similar due process protections for provisional employees at the Department of Education, New York City Housing Authority, and the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation that all other provisional employees have had since the 1980s.

Fair Wages

DC37 employees will receive compounded increases based on the final seven years of the UFT pattern, with the four-month contract extension:

September 3, 2011: 1.00%
September 3, 2012: 1.00%
September 3, 2013: 1.00%
September 3, 2014: 1.50%
September 3, 2015: 2.50%
September 3, 2016: 3.00%
March 3, 2017 (Additional Compensation Fund): 0.52%

The agreement also includes a one-time $1,000 ratification payment.

Affordable Costs

The total cost of the tentative agreement is covered by the pattern settlement established by the UFT contract. Even after factoring in this agreement and the pattern settlement across all unions, the City’s out-year budget gaps remain at manageable levels that are well below historical averages.

The cost of today’s agreement over the FY2014-2018 Financial Plan is as follows:

Gross Cost: $1.75 billion
Health Savings: $795 million
Net Cost: $955 million