There is money in the city’s new FY 2005 budget for raises if city workers accept a contract deal similar to the one settled by District Council 37, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced as he unveiled a $46.9 billion Executive Budget in City Hall, April 26.

He declared that the “recession has ended” and “jobs are coming back” to the city. “Brighter days are undoubtedly here,” he added.

Bloomberg’s fiscal year ’05 budget, which takes effect July 1, includes a $1.4 billion surplus as a result of the upturn in profits on Wall Street, increased tourism and private sector jobs. The mayor said the city can now pay “our city workers as much as we can afford through innovative deals, such as the one with DC 37.” The budget includes approximately $600 million in labor settlement costs based on the DC 37 package.

Many Labor leaders, including Local 237 President Carl Haynes, have expressed concern about the DC 37 settlement. The contract deal reduces wages for new workers by 15 percent, as well as vacation, sick leave and other benefits for future city employees.

After learning of the DC 37 deal, Haynes told The New York Times he didn’t see DC 37’s contract as a model. “I don’t like the 15 percent pay cut,” he said. “At this point I can’t say I’d accept the same thing. That contract serves as a framework for me to go on, but I want to negotiate about the nuances that affect our members.”

He added: “Obviously, city workers want a contract, but they also understand that one-size doesn’t fit all. In many ways the needs of Local 237 members differ quite considerably from those of other unions.”

The city’s three-year contract agreement with DC 37, which represents approximately one-third of the city’s workforce, includes: