RESTRUCTURING PROPOSAL TO THE CITY
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In accordance with the negotiated contractual agreement that was ratified by the membership, the Executive Board has been working on a salary restructuring based on rearranging current earnings. This is a commonly used tactic employed by management that forces a union to attempt to solve its own issues without receiving further compensation by the employer. It is also a tactic that is intended to cause strife and divide the membership over the issue of who should benefit at whose expense. This is exactly what has happened within the Uniformed EMS Officers Union since the contract was ratified and is continuing today. Some members have expressed the desire to suspend the restructuring process. This would result in the City bringing the salaries up to the 2008 levels and remit the retroactive money due from August 2008 to present.
Some Facts that the membership needs to be aware of:
- There is not, nor was there ever, any plan to eliminate anybody’s raise.
- We are in no way advocating reducing Lieutenants salaries to enhance Captains.
- We are in no way advocating reducing EMT’s salaries to enhance Paramedics.
Since the City rejected the initial restructuring plan, citing the need for additional money from the employer, we have formulated another plan which falls within the agreed boundaries. Attached is a chart which shows the salary structure as it will appear under the current economic agreement and how it would look under the proposed restructure plan.
What the Proposal does call for:
- Members under 5 years in title deferring a portion of their 2008 and 2009 4% increase.
- Those members will instead receive 3% increases for those two periods, this comes to less than $25.00 per check for each period, or less than $550.00 per annum.
- This will allow us to increase the base salary for each title.
- As these will now be the top ends salary for senior officers, these benefits will become recurring meaning greater earning potential for all local members.
- Higher future earnings based on future negotiated contracts due to the increased top end salary.
- As written, the plan calls for Lieutenants to finance Lieutenants increases and Captains will finance Captains increases.
The one issue, that the proposal as presented does not take into account, the difference between promoted Paramedics and EMT’s. These delayed calculations are due to management’s delays in providing the local with the numbers of personnel in each payroll tier. However, seeing how the calculations being provided to you are based on all members in each payroll tier at their minimal earnings, the projected savings and therefore the monies being used to enhance the top end earnings will see nominal increases. The exact amounts will only be known once we receive the needed information from FDNY payroll.
This plan has been reviewed, and is supported by all members of the current Local 3621 Executive Board. It is being provided to you for your review and consideration as you decide whether the local should continue to pursue restructuring. Yes, we all agree, restructuring is not the preferred way to realize payroll increases for our members.
But this plan gives the best bang for the buck, and will realize benefits for all members that we are not guaranteed at the current contract rates. The most important thing to realize and remember is that this comes at no loss to any individual member. All members that see reduced earnings up front will gain in the long run.
Please take time to review this plan in detail. Don’t just look at the initial fact that some members will be earning less than expected over the next 17 months. Consider the current financial situation and budget cuts being forced upon all city agencies. What is the likelihood of seeing a high percentage increase offer when we go back to the table in 2010 ? This plan will place the members of this local in a better position as we walk in the door then we find ourselves now. The reality is simple; an increase of any percentage on top of $100.00 is more than the same percentage increase on $85.00. This will result in higher earnings for every year and every contract to come.
As many labor unions have had to realize in the past, we are compelled to learn today, it is sometimes necessary for some of the membership to sacrifice in order to win benefit enhancement for the rest of the union.
In Solidarity,
Executive Board
Uniformed EMS Officers Union
