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                  Get to know your Business Agent today!  Find out how the union makes a difference on the job. |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 11, 2005 Contact: Moronke Oshin 212-924-2000 ext. 8593 TEAMSTERS LOCAL 237 REACHES TENTATIVE CONTRACT AGREEMENT WITH CITY New York City — After three years without a contract, Local 237’s 8,000 Citywide members will finally have a chance to vote on a tentative agreement reached last week with the Bloomberg administration. The union is still in contract negotiations for 11,000 Housing Authority workers. Eight months ago, Local 237’s Negotiating Committee, comprised of 50 rank-and-file members, rejected a contract offer that reduces members’ overtime pay and strips new city employees of many benefits. The members said they were satisfied that the union had effectively “reshaped” the District Council-37 negotiated financial settlement to produce a package that protects members’ interest and the union’s “unborn.” The Committee members voted, April 7, to send the offer to the membership for a ratification vote on April 28. “The challenge was in reaching a compromise that allowed the City to meet its financial obligations without the union having to sell out the unborn and without us having to give away our hard-won holidays and other benefits,” said Local 237 President Carl Haynes. He added: “It is ludicrous for anyone to suggest that we settle for a contract that sacrifices key benefits just because others have accepted it. The fact is, even if the City allowed you to buy back those benefits later, you couldn’t buy them back for the price you sold them. That’s just common sense.” The new 40-month agreement covers the period from April 1, 2002, to August 6, 2005, and includes: *A one-time $1,000 lump sum cash payment for the first year, *A wage increase of 3 percent payable with the signing of the contract effective April 1, 2003, in the second year, and *A wage increase of 1.75 percent effective April 1, 2004. *General wage increases for miscellaneous items, including allowances, increments and differentials (not including the 15-year longevity differential) *A $75 annual increase in members’ Annuity Fund, retroactive to April 1, 2004. *A possible one (1) percent wage increase at the end of the contract funded by mutually agreed upon productivity measures. * The creation of two labor-management committees to discuss the union’s request for family and safety-related issues, including child care and flexible working hours for families with children, and unresolved health and safety issues in the workplace. For city employees hired after April 1, 2005, the agreement stipulates: *An appointment rate of 13 percent less than the “incumbent minimum” during the first year of service * Employees who complete one year of service will be paid 10 percent less than the indicated “incumbent minimum” that is in effect on the one-year anniversary of their original date of appointment. *After two years of service, the employees will revert back to the "incumbent minimum” for that title as in effect on the two-year anniversary of their original appointment. *All employees hired after April 1, 2005, will continue to enjoy the same benefits, floating holidays, vacation and sick time, overtime and nighttime differential as current employees. Local 237’s Citywide members have been working without a contract since March 31, 2002, when the last contract expired. The union’s negotiators include 50 rank-and-file members, Citywide Director and Secretary-Treasurer Gregory Floyd, lead attorneys Basil Patterson and Barry Peek from the law firm of Meyer, Suozzi, English and Klein, and Allen Brawer, analyst for Local 237. Teamsters Local 237 represents more than 23,000 municipal workers in New York City and on Long Island, and is the largest Local in the 1.4 million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters. |
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