Mayor Eric Adams on Friday announced a tentative deal with the District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal union, that would grant their members roughly 3% annual raises over five years as well as bonuses.
“I have made no secret that I am a blue-collar mayor,” Adams said during a news conference in City Hall.
He began by speaking about his late mother, who had been a member of DC37 as a food service worker.
“This is in my blood,” he said.
The agreement resolves a key challenge facing the mayor, who has strong relationships with labor but is seeking to contain costs during an uncertain economic period for the city.
DC37, which endorsed Adams during his mayoral primary campaign, represents 100,000 city workers across a wide breadth, including 911 operators, social service workers and park staffers. The union is one of dozens whose contracts have expired. City workers have demanded raises that reflect their work during the pandemic as well as the burden of inflation.
Under a process known as pattern bargaining, the agreement will set the standard for the remaining unions — including the teachers’ union — that are bargaining with the city.
Both parties were negotiating until midnight on Thursday. They have been holding bargaining meetings since September.
Donald Nesbitt, the political director for DC37 who was among those present at the press conference, praised the deal, calling it the best union contract he had seen since becoming a member in 1998.
This is a breaking news story. More details to come.
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