Mayor de Blasio, Commissioner Campion Announce Tentative Contract Agreement with EMS Union District Council 37, Raising Wages for Over 4,500 FDNY Employees

August 6, 2021

Agreement covers titles such as EMT, Paramedic, EMS Lieutenant, and Fire Protection Inspector; FDNY will train all EMS staff to respond to mental health calls

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio and Labor Relations Commissioner Renee Campion today announced a tentative contract agreement with District Council 37 Locals 2507 and 3621 that will raise wages for over 4,500 FDNY employees, improve recruitment and retention, and allow the City to expand the mental health response pilot program.    

“Our emergency service workers are heroes who got New York City through the worst crisis in generations and continue to serve our city every day with honor,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This agreement increases wages and will allow us to expand our incredible mental health pilot, which has already proven to be an effective way to handle non-violent mental health calls. I thank Commissioner Campion and Henry Garrido for their hard work in coming to this agreement.”

“This important agreement is a testament to this Administration’s commitment to treating municipal workers fairly across the bargaining table. We are proud to have reached this agreement with the union that represents our emergency service workers who respond to the needs of City residents each and every day. Thank you to DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido and his entire team for working with the City on this contract,” said Commissioner Renee Campion.

The agreement covers the period from June 29, 2018 through July 28, 2022, including a six-month contract extension. This agreement conforms to the pattern reached with other civilian unions, and includes productivity enhancements tied to increased work hours and the expansion of mental health responses. Under the agreement, a 6% mental health response differential will be provided to EMS employees who are trained and available to be deployed in the expanded version of the mental-health pilot program that pairs EMS workers with trained mental health professionals in response to non-violent mental health calls.

General wage increases under this agreement are as follows:

6/29/18: 2%
6/29/19: 2.25%
7/29/20: 3%
9/12/21:  4%

Effective on September 12th, employees will also work 2,088 hours per year; the previous contractual work schedule for most unit employees was 1,957 hours per year. Other economic benefits under the agreement are increases to longevity payments, annuity payments, and uniform allowance payments.

The net cost of the agreement by year is as follows:

FY21: $26.7 million
FY22: $44.2 million
FY23: $65 million
FY24: $73.7 million
FY25: $79.5 million

The terms of the agreement must be ratified by union membership.

“FDNY EMTs, Paramedics, and Officers are essential to the safety and health of our city,” said FDNY First Deputy Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic they once again bravely demonstrated to the world what we all know to be true - they are the very best and deserve to be compensated for the critical emergency medical care they provide to thousands of New Yorkers each day.”