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Newsline: October 2003 Contract Talks Get Under Way Union Seeks Wage Increases and "No Givebacks"
In his opening remarks Haynes told Labor Relations Commissioner James Hanley: “The city is doing quite well and things have improved somewhat. Yet, the mayor’s offer hasn’t changed, even though he is now talking about tax cuts. We believe things will get better and that we can get a base wage increase.” Prior to sitting down with Hanley and his negotiating team, Haynes warned the union’s negotiating committee that based on Mayor Bloomberg’s hard-nosed statements in the media and at a Municipal Labor Committee luncheon meeting in September, this negotiation is “going to be a long and difficult process.” However, he added, “I expect us to get a raise and I do not expect a raise that is based on productivity or givebacks, because that would be like shifting money from one pocket to another. I certainly expect that anything we get will be retroactive to April 1, 2001, when your last contract expired.” The demands were put together by the members of the negotiating committee, which is composed of representatives of all Local 237’s citywide title groups, in conjunction with the union’s attorneys, Basil Patterson and Barry Peek, and financial analyst Allen Brower, who has evaluated and analyzed the city’s financial condition. At the opening of the meeting, Haynes told the city negotiators sitting across the table that the union would not entertain givebacks and that members “are carrying more workload than ever before,” and should be compensated for doing the work of two or three people whose positions were never filled when they left the job. “You call it doing more with less, but they get little thanks for it,” Haynes added. After explaining the demands, Citywide Director Gregory Floyd reiterated Haynes’ statement that the union expects a fair raise now that the city’s economic situation had improved. Dismissing the city’s contention that unions have not done enough to help, Haynes said, “Union members have been sacrificing since they gave up 18 months' pay from 1993 to 1995 and two years of increases in 1995 to help the city balance its budget. Workers have been sacrificing since 1975 when the unions allowed the city to use billions of dollars from our pension funds to avoid going bankrupt and then, a month later, the city fired 70,000 union members.” Haynes noted that many private-sector workers have settled contracts with raises in the past few weeks, including the transport workers, who settled a contract with raises in the midst of the city’s worst financial crisis. He told negotiators that Local 237 members had the same financial needs as everyone else and would settle for nothing less than a contract with raises. “Our members,“ he said, “are shopping at the same supermarkets, paying the same price for milk, bread, juice and other necessities, and are paying the increased cost of maintaining a roof over their heads, are paying the increased cost in utility bills, are paying increased property taxes, are paying the increased cost in subway fare, tolls on the bridges and for gasoline, just as everyone else.” “We would be singing a different tune,” he added, “had the city rewarded our members and put them ahead when it was flush with a massive surplus during 2001 — a surplus which was created on the backs of city workers. But, no. Instead, the mayor squandered the surplus. It has become apparent to us that the city wants municipal workers to bear the undue burden of subsidizing everyone else who lives in this city!” |
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 THE UNION TEAM – At the table Carl Haynes is flanked by, left to right, Allen Brawer, Basil Patterson, Greg Floyd and Barry Peek. In the back are Deborah Singer, Joel Sosinsky, Edmund Kane, Abbey Pabon, Jr., and Bernard McSorely.  Members of Local 237’s negotiating committee discussing the city’s response to the union’s contract demands.  Commissioner James F. Hanley at the table with his negotiating committee. |
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Local 237’s negotiating team, led by President Carl Haynes, met with city negotiators on Oct. 1 to begin the process of hammering out a new two-year contract for the union’s 11,000 plus citywide employees.