Release #115-01

 

Contact:

Sunny Mindel/Curt Ritter

(212) 788-2958

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Lee Saunders, the Administrator of District Council 37 (DC 37), AFSCME, AFL-CIO, and its affiliated locals, announced a tentative settlement, subject to ratification, on an overall economic agreement covering in excess of 100,000 civilian City employees.

"This tentative agreement is historic in that the contract acknowledges the City's right to implement a Performance Compensation Plan," said Mayor Giuliani. Under the Program, for the first time ever, the City will be able to compensate outstanding performance, which will encourage productivity and accountability. Those City workers that go the distance will tangibly be recognized for their efforts beyond the other increases provided for in the settlement.

"This is a significant agreement which establishes the basic parameters for collective bargaining settlements in this round of bargaining. The City's commitment to attain fiscally prudent settlements has been coupled with the Union's aim to achieve fair treatment and compensation, as well as job security, for its members. Lee Saunders has delivered a broad-based economic agreement that will provide much deserved wage increases and other benefits for DC 37 and its Locals," said Mayor Giuliani.

"I want to thank Deputy Mayor Robert Harding, Labor Commissioner
Jim Hanley and Budget Director Adam Barsky for working on this agreement with Lee Saunders. I believe this agreement benefits both the City and union members and sets the stage for future labor negotiations," the Mayor concluded.

The settlement referred to as the "2000 District Council 37 Memorandum of Economic Agreement," represents the framework for successor collective bargaining agreements, and generally covers the 27-month period from April 1, 2000 through June 30, 2002.

The principal features of this Memorandum of Economic Agreement include:

• A 4% increase on the first day of the contract, and another 4% increase, compounded on the first day of the 13th month of the contract;
• A special fund, that is funded through a contract extension, within the overall settlement, that is set aside to address certain unique, specific issues for each of the 56 locals of DC 37;
• Job security during the life of the contract, and a Redeployment Process and Procedure that is coterminous with the Job Security provision; and,
• A labor management committee on pension issues.

This Agreement will serve as a catalyst to effectuate several recent innovations and enhancements in pensions and health benefits arrived at through collective bargaining with the Municipal Labor Committee. A number of pension and benefit improvements are scheduled to be implemented upon the ratification of this Agreement.

The City and the Municipal Labor Committee worked together to reach historic results in both pension and health benefit areas in May 2000 and January 2001, respectively. The pension agreement saved the City $800 Million due to the pension restart; and the health agreement saved over $360 Million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 and FY 2004. The benefits from both pension and health deals will take place upon the ratification of this Agreement.

The total value of the settlement, including wage increases and the special fund, is $277 million in City Funds for DC 37. If extended to all City employees, the value of the entire package will total $1.7 billion in City Funds, inclusive of the DC 37 settlement.