Release #126-01

 

Contact:

Sunny Mindel/Peter Fenty

(212) 788-2958

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and James Golden, President of Local 300 of the Service Employees International Union, announced a tentative settlement, subject to ratification by the membership, of an overall economic agreement covering approximately 850 employees.

Local 300 represents people with specific titles who are employed by the City, the Health and Hospitals Corporation, the Board of Education and the New York City Housing Authority. The employees represented by this union have diverse titles, including Purchasing Agents and Fingerprint Technicians and the Department of Environmental Protection Officers responsible for security over the City's water system.

"This tentative agreement follows the terms of the economic agreement reached with District Council 37," said Mayor Giuliani. "It satisfies the City's commitment to enter into fiscally sound settlements with the Unions and also provides our employees with fair treatment. In addition to continuing the City's prudent fiscal policy in labor settlements, it provides Local 300 members with a fair wage increase and job security."

The agreement will also permit the City to reward outstanding performance under the new Performance Compensation Plan negotiated in this round of bargaining. The Plan permits the City to reward exceptional employees with additional compensation beyond the negotiated settlement based upon their job performance.

The principal features of the Agreement include:

• A 24 month contract, with a three month extension, that covers the period from January 1, 2000 through March 31, 2002;
  
  
• A 4% increase on the first day of the contract, and another 4% increase, compounded on the first day of the 13th month of the contract;
  
  
• A special fund within the overall settlement that is funded through a contract extension and set aside to address certain unique, specific issues for this bargaining unit.
  
  
• Job security during the life of the contract, and a Redeployment Process and Procedure that is coterminous with the Job Security Provision.
  

Upon ratification of this agreement, a number of pension and health benefit improvements, including elimination of the 3% pension contribution for employees with 10 years of service, are scheduled to be implemented. These enhancements are a result of the agreements negotiated over the past year between the City and the Municipal Labor Committee. The pension agreement will save the City over $800 million due to the pension restart, and the health benefit agreement will save the City over $360 million through FY 2004.