Public Employee Press

Panel studies union salary proposals

The Salary Review Panel is poring over scores of proposals for improved compensation submitted by DC 37 local unions. The panel will be putting the proposals under the microscope in the coming months.

In the proposals, locals have presented data to show that members in certain titles are undercompensated when compared to other workers in the public and private sectors who perform similar jobs.

The locals developed the proposals with the DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept., and in some cases, outside consultants. Many local leaders and activists were deeply involved in the research, development and writing of the proposals.

“This is a very painstaking process that requires a lot of technical analysis,” said Dennis Sullivan, director of the DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept. “We are moving ahead in a very deliberate fashion to look at all the proposals thoroughly.”

Sullivan sits on the panel along with 1st Deputy Labor Commissioner Pamela Silverblatt and Marlene Gold, head of the impartial Office of Collective Bargaining, who was chosen by the union and city as the neutral party. The parties must identify funding sources for any increased compensation.

“This process is a creative way for the city and the union to work together to identify jobs whose compensation may have fallen behind the norm in the private or public sector,” DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts said. “The aim is to provide the affected workers with a boost beyond the regular wages in the contract.”