Citywide Contract Bargaining Update

DC 37 Family, As you are aware, our collective bargaining agreement with the City of New York will expire on Friday, Nov. 6. Today, we convened the DC 37 Bargaining Committee to begin the process of negotiating the new citywide economic agreement for wage increases and other economic items. The bargaining committee includes our DC 37 Executive Board members and Local presidents from every local union affiliated with DC 37 to advocate on your behalf.

 Let me be clear: this will not be an easy process. It will be a tremendous amount of work for all of us. The complexities of bargaining cannot be reduced to a single issue. Our members are struggling, and you deserve to be compensated fairly for the work you do, day in and day out, to serve this city.

 The process for bargaining the new contract began over the summer, when we issued the official survey to learn about your priorities for the economic agreement. More than 12,000 of you responded, which helps us to formulate our demands.

 We want as much money going into your pocket as possible.

 In order to accomplish that, we know we need to resolve the healthcare issues that are playing out in New York. The cost of healthcare continues to increase at an unsustainable rate and impact the amount of money that is available for your raises. On average, health insurance for city workers costs $46,000 per member. We want to protect your health care access and make sure that you don’t have to pay more, whether at the doctor’s office or through the imposition of insurance premiums.

 One way we are working to lower your health care costs is through the creation of DC 37 Rx (Judi Rx), our new prescription drug program. You will receive more information about this program from the DC 37 Health & Security Plan in the coming weeks, including a new prescription drug card.

We’re also trying to address other benefits. We know a priority for many of you is the continuation of the implementation of the successful remote work pilot and compressed schedules we negotiated in the last agreement. We also know we need to address the implementation of new technology, including the challenges, training, and threats of displacement associated with Artificial Intelligence.

Our members deserve a fair contract. And we need your help to achieve it.

Starting next Friday, Nov. 6– the day our contract with the City of New York expires– we are launching a monthly Day of Action until we receive a new contract. We have created a Day of Action Toolkit with social media posts, graphics, and signs that you can use in your workplace. On the 6th of every month, we encourage you and your colleagues to wear green, wear a button or sticker, put a sign up in your workspace, and post on social media to tell the Mamdani administration: City Workers Need a New Contract!

 We are also producing a limited number of buttons, stickers, and t-shirts that will be distributed by our field operations team. We will hold a series of town halls to provide updates on the bargaining process and hear from you on the issues impacting you most.

 Over the past several months, we have experienced an increase in misinformation being distributed about contract bargaining. Please be mindful of the sources of that information, and be protective of sharing your own personal data.

 Our members are our greatest asset. You make this city run– you wake up every day and continue to go to work, save lives, provide care, serve New Yorkers, and protect our most vulnerable populations. You do all of this without having received a raise in more than a year. 

 If we work together, we can achieve a fair contract together.

In Solidarity,

Henry A. Garrido
Executive Director
District Council 37