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June 4, 2004
PBA, UFA Join UFT for Wage Protest June 8
Object to Bloomberg Attempt to Impose DC 37 Pattern
By Mark Daly
Police and fire union leaders have joined the United Federation of Teachers
to organize what is expected to be a massive contract rally outside City Hall
next week.
The June 8 rally is scheduled to take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
The rare uniting of the city’s Teachers with the Patrolmen’s Benevolent
Association and the Uniformed Firefighter’s Association follows by seven
weeks the settlement of a contract between Mayor Bloomberg and District Council
37 that sets an ominous precedent for the other unions.
Terms Don’t Suit Them
In return for a guarantee of 5 percent in wage increases over the three-year
life of the deal, DC 37 agreed to cut the starting pay of the city’s future
civilian workers and accept a $1,000 bonus instead of a raise in the contract’s
first year.
It’s a proposal that Teachers, Police Officers and Firefighters won’t
stand for, leaders of their unions say, after years of efforts to raise the pay
scale for their jobs to match the value of their contributions to the city’s
livelihood – not to mention the starting salaries for cops and Teachers
in the suburbs.
“Here you have three essential services, all saying to the Mayor that
we need to be treated fairly,” said UFT President Randi Weingarten, the
first leader to call the rally.
Mayor’s Retort
Mayor Bloomberg, pointing to the city’s shaky finances, has insisted
that gains in any union’s wages this year need be paid for by greater productivity,
such as a relaxing of work rules for Teachers, different tour schedules for cops
and firefighters, or reductions in other benefits.
Each of the unions has responded by saying a retention crisis in their respective
ranks means Mr. Bloomberg should provide a wage increase above and beyond what
could be generated through productivity. His failure to do so, Ms. Weingarten
said, drive the unions together in their fight.
The conflict has also pushed the PBA and UFT beyond the bargaining table. The
unions have each had an impasse declared in their talks, and mediators have been
appointed to revive negotiations with the city. UFA President Stephen J. Cassidy,
while expressing guarded optimism about his own talks, has begun educating his
members about the early steps of the arbitration process.
‘Not About DC 37’
Following the announcement of the DC 37 deal, some city union leaders grumbled
that an earlier show of unity, in the streets or at the bargaining table, might
have averted such a development. The rally’s organizers, however, are remaining
publicly diplomatic.
“This is not about DC 37,” said Mr. Weingarten, who doubles as
leader of the Municipal Labor Committee. “They have a right to settle a
contract that meets the needs of their members. That’s not the issue.
The point, Ms. Weingarten continued, is the obstacle of pattern bargaining
itself, in which “the city picks somebody it wants to make a deal with.
You can’t impose terms in places where there are other unions with other
needs.”
The workers who provide “critical services” to the city “deserve
to be compensated fairly and differently than everyone else,” said Mr. Cassidy.
“How they choose to pay clerks who never risk their lives is one thing.
How they pay firefighters is another.”
In a message to his members about the rally, PBA President Patrick J. Lynch
ignored the DC 37 issue and faulted the city for failing to offer a straight wage
increase. “While we continue to sweat blood for the city, the city continues
to disrespect us at the bargaining table,’ he said.
For all three unions, the pay issue is “a matter of safety and a matter
of the health of the city,” added PBA spokesman Al O’Leary.
In order for the city to build its financial strength, he explained, “You’re
going to need well-educated young people and you need to ensure their safety.”
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