Local 237 officials testified on behalf of 5,000 member peace officers at a hearing held Mar. 29 by the New York City Council’s Committee on Civil Service and Labor. At the hearing, chaired by Council Member Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., the council voted unanimously to pass Int. No. 380-A, a bill that would extend to peace officers the same collective bargaining privileges currently enjoyed by New York City Police Officers and other uniformed services.

Testifying for the Union were George Geller, special assistant to President Carl Haynes; Pete Gutierrez, Citywide Law Enforcement Unit assistant director; Steve Gordon, business agent; and Lt. John Thompson of the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Geller introduced the range of peace officers represented by the union. “These titles,” he said, “function in a bona fide law enforcement capacity. They personify the rule of law where that rule comes under attack.”

In contrast to the city’s uniformed services, however, peace officers are not entitled to bargaining rights for line-of-duty injuries or to raise their distinct issues in direct negotiations. Instead, they are forced to bargain collectively with non-uniformed city employees.

Of the 31 City Council sponsors, the bill’s chief sponsor, Leroy Comrie, said the bill is “intended to correct a longtime injustice.”

“We are adjusting a procedural matter in which bargaining takes place,” Council Member Addabbo explained, having read aloud Bloomberg’s statement in opposition to the bill. Bloomberg invoked the Taylor Law and called the bill “illegal,” saying “the power to negotiate rests with the mayor.” He also warned that passage of the bill could debilitate collective bargaining.

“This bill does not commit the city to one thin dime,” said Geller, adding that Local 237 peace officers are facing increasing physical danger, and the bill — which distinguishes them from the civilian employees they are now grouped with in collective bargaining — is “way overdue.” To drive home the point, Geller cited recent headlines reporting a rash of dangerous gun busts performed by school safety agents in city schools. He also quoted union surveys showing that nearly two thirds of responding agents had been injured on the job, while about 37 percent were out of work for more than one week recuperating from on-the-job injuries.

In addition to Local 237 members, the bill would also grant separate bargaining rights to sanitation and traffic enforcement officers who are represented by CWA Local 1182. Although Intro 380-A is likely to be vetoed by the mayor in the near future, the Council is expected to have the vote to override the veto.