NYC, DC 37 Municipal Union Strike Labor Deal
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York City's largest municipal union agreed to a new contract on Wednesday, becoming another important piece of Mayor Bill de Blasio's ongoing efforts to settle an unprecedented labor situation.
District Council 37, which represents more than 100,000 city workers in a variety of jobs, agreed to a deal that will give them a cumulative 10 percent raise over seven years.
"This union is the glue that holds the city together in many ways," said de Blasio in a City Hall press conference. "It's long overdue. We've come to an agreement that we feel is very strong."
De Blasio noted that the DC 37 agreement covers a broad range of employees, including engineers, architects, librarians, museum workers and parks workers. The union has had an expired contract since 2010. They agreed to follow a pattern of raises established by the new teachers' union contract, which was agreed to in May.
De Blasio said unions representing 60 percent of the city's workers now have contract deals, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported. All unions were working on expired deals when the mayor took office in January.
De Blasio has repeatedly said that he expects the city's other unions -- and nearly 150 still don't have new contracts -- to follow suit, though some of the emergency service unions, such as the one that represents rank-and-file police officers, have called for bigger raises.
"We bargained hard, as did the administration, (and this) is a fair deal for our members in a tough economic climate,'' DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts said.
The cost of the DC 37 deal over the next four years is $1.75 billion. But the city says after what it calls a guaranteed $795 million in health care savings, the actual pricetag is $995 million.
The DC 37 agreement does not include retroactive raises. The teachers union, which had been without a contract since 2009, did receive them.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)