The first General Membership meeting of the year is on Tuesday, October 7th.  It will be held in the auditorium of the Brooklyn Heights Branch (scroll down for directions) and is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.  Sandwiches and drinks are available beginning at 6:00 p.m.

This meeting has a special order of business.  We are taking nominations for election to the Executive Board of Local 1482 Brooklyn Librarian Guild.  The term of office is three years, from December, 2014 to December, 2017.  If you think you would like to run, or you would like to nominate a colleague, please attend the meeting and submit your nominations!

Nominations will be taken for the following positions:

*President

*Vice President- Blue Collar
*Vice President- Clerical
*Vice President- Librarian

*Treasurer

*Recording Secretary
*Correspondence Secretary

*A total of 11 representatives (4 Clerical, 3 Librarian, 1 Custodial, 1 Maintainer, 1 Special Officer, 1 Miscellaneous)

*5 Delegates to DC37

Other items on the meeting agenda are:

*Minutes
*Treasurer's Report
*Committee Reports
*Old and New Business
*Door Prizes

All General Membership Meeting dates for 2014/2015 are located here.  Please post in your agencies and share with your colleagues.  Hope to see you on October 7th!

We have to wait a bit longer (but hopefully not too long).  Local 1482 President Eileen Muller was previously told that the library would pay members the $1,000 ratification bonus for the new economic contract at the end of the current pay period. 

Unfortunately, the library disclosed to President Muller this afternoon that the bonuses will not be issued this week.

The union resolutely wants the payment of these long anticipated and richly deserved increases to be made as quickly as possible.  Our members have already waited too long for a fair deal.

As soon as we get information about when bonuses and retroactive payments will be disbursed, we will post it here.

 

The votes have been counted and the membership of DC37 has overwhelmingly voted YES to ratify its new economic contract with the City of New York. 

This is breaking news, and we'll share information with you as it is becomes available.  In the meantime, here is the official press statement released yesterday evening by DC37.

News from DC37

District Council 37
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees
125 Barclay Street - New York, NY 10007
Phone (212) 815-1535 Fax: (212) 815-7535 www.dc37.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2014

Contact Zita Allen, Communications Director
Molly Charboneau
Rudy Orozco
(212) 815-1535


DISTRICT COUNCIL 37 MEMBERS OVERWHELMINGLY
RATIFY CONTRACT

By an overwhelming 96 percent, members of District Council 37 ratified a new economic agreement, Executive Director Lillian Roberts announced today. It gives employees 10.41 percent in compounded wage hikes and maintains basic health and welfare benefits with no additional out-of-pocket costs. The pact covers the period from March 3, 2010 to July 2, 2017.

The seven-year, four-month agreement passed with over 96 percent voting yes, according to tallies by the American Arbitration Association. Of the approximate 88,000 eligible members, 45,561 voted yes and only 1,673 voted no.



“I want to thank all the members for their overwhelming support for this contract,” said Ms. Roberts. “This just shows what is possible, even in a difficult economic climate, when you have a union that does its research and finds real savings for the city and an administration willing to listen and treat employees with respect. In addition, this contract contains a ground-breaking Joint Recruitment and Promotion Committee, which addresses inequities and increases promotional opportunities for public employees, the majority of whom are women and people of color.” Additionally, it includes a gain-sharing proposal which lets workers benefit from mutually agreed upon cost-saving strategies.



The tentative agreement was reached on July 2. The ratification vote was conducted in accordance with the DC 37 Constitution, which mandates that all union-wide contract votes be conducted by an independent third party.

If you haven't received a ballot in the mail for the new Economic Contract, or if you need a replacement ballot, call the American Arbitration Association right away.  The number is:

1-800-529-5218
Remember, ballots are due by Tuesday, August 5th.
Send yours in today!


Around four dozen members of Local 1482 assembled in the Trustees Room at Central on Tuesday night to learn about the proposed economic contract and to have their questions about it answered.  The meeting started with President Eileen Muller giving an overview of DC37's negotiations with the City of New York to reach this agreement (Here's an interesting fact: Robert Linn, the city's chief labor negotiator, is married to Carol Linn, who worked in the Executive Director's Office at BPL before she retired).  Then she summarized the terms of the proposed contract as they are laid out in this document (please print out and share with your colleagues in your branch, division, or department).

The American Arbitration Association (AAA) mailed out ratification ballots early this week.  Many attending Tuesday's meeting reported already having received theirs.  If you believe you are covered by the economic contract, but do not receive a ballot by July 28th, you should phone the AAA at 1-800-529-5218 or email UlerioS@adr.org.

The ballots must be delivered to the AAA by 9:00 a.m. on August 5th.  It is very important that you accurately follow the instructions for filling out and sealing your ballots.  A ballot that hasn't been prepared correctly will be invalid and not counted. 

A great deal of information and clarification was provided at the meeting.  A summary follows below.  However, if you have further questions about the contract or your ballot, you are encouraged to contact President Eileen Muller, any member of the Executive Board, or send an email to local1482@gmail.com.

*  Two Payments.  The $1,000 Ratification Bonus and the Retroactive Wage Increases will be issued as two separate payments.  The ratification bonus will come first, probably within a couple of weeks of the ballots being counted and the contract ratified.  There is no information at this time on when Retroactive Wage Increases will be paid.  

*  The $1,000 Ratification Bonus. This will be payable on the date all valid ballots are counted and the contract is declared ratified.  Taxes will be taken from the $1,000 total.  All Local 1482 members who are on the payroll on the date of ratification will receive the bonus (in other words, don't resign or retire until after the contract is ratified!).  New hires who are on the payroll on the date of ratification will receive the bonus.
            * Why a $1,000 Ratification Bonus. You'll notice that the contract          starts on March 3, 2010.  Yet the first compounded wage increase of 1% doesn't kick in until September 3, 2011.  This Ratification Bonus is the agreement DC37 and the City came to to compensate members for not receiving a wage increase during the first 18 months of the contract.

*  Retroactive Wage Increases.  Members will receive retroactive pay only on the first three wage increases covered in the contract.  These are the compounded 1% wage increases for 2011, 2012, and 2013.  Additions to gross pay (for example, overtime pay) will not be calculated into the retroactive payments or in the pay increases we receive for 2014 and 2015.  Additions to gross pay will increase 3% effective September 3, 2016.   

*  No Change to Health and Welfare Benefits.  It is understandable that members are looking forward to seeing their pay increase and receiving their bonuses and retroactive payments.  However, this provision of the contract is an important victory because it means we still do not have to pay premiums for our basic health benefits.  Unless you elect to purchase riders on your policy, your health care, and the health care of the 120,000 members of DC37, is still free! 

We'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.  Remember, send in your ratification ballots before August 5th!

There has been movement on enacting DC37's economic agreement with the city:

*  The Delegates Assembly at DC 37 overwhelmingly voted to approve the proposed contract on July 8th.  Click here or on the image above to review the terms of the contract as they were presented to members of the Delegates Assembly (Local 1482 The Brooklyn Library Guild has five delegates in the Delegates Assembly).

*  You can read Public Employee Press coverage on the contract agreement here before it is delivered to your homes. DC37 President Lilian Roberts writes of the proposed contract that it is, "...a fair deal in a tough economy."  The followup article states that the independent American Arbitration Association (AAA) will mail ratification ballots to all DC37 members covered under the contract on July 21.  They are due to be returned by 9:00 a.m. on August 5.  Anyone who believes they are covered by the contract but does not receive a ballot by July 28, should phone the AAA at 1-800-529-5218 or email UlerioS@adr.org.

*  Finally, Local 1482 will hold an informational meeting on the contract for its members on Tuesday, July 22, at 6:00 p.m.  It will take place at the Central Library in the Trustees Room.  Please attend to hear about the contract, the ratification process, and to have your questions answered!

DC37 has posted a couple of useful tools on its website to show members what their potential pay increases will be if the proposed economic agreement with the city is ratified. 

The first is an online calculator that estimates your raises and retroactive payments.  Simply enter your bi-weekly gross salary, and you'll be provided a list annual increases through 2016.  You can also see approximate retroactive payments, which are then added to the $1000 one-time payment all members will receive upon ratification.  What is the cash payout you might receive upon ratification?  The calculator will give you a ballpark figure. 

For those who prefer this type of information in a printable document, DC37 has also provided this Potential Back-Pay Table.  It lists a range of annual salaries and you can see annual increases within each range, as well as approximate cash payouts members within those ranges will receive upon ratification.

Please note that the figures provided in these tools are estimates.  They do not factor in overtime or shift differential payments in their formulas.  Both tools indicate that cash payouts will be made to members in September, 2014.  While there is no concrete timeline for ratification yet, it seems as if DC37 is aiming for the end of the summer for the process to be completed!

We'll keep posting updates here, but you can also sign up for DC37's Action Alerts and News to get news on the contract delivered to your email address.

Around midnight on July 2nd, District Council 37 announced it had reached an agreement with the City of New York on a new economic contract.  With over 120,000 members and 50,000 retirees, DC37 is the largest public workers union in New York City.  Local 1482 The Brooklyn Library Guild is one of DC37's 53 union locals, and most of our members will be covered under this contract should it be ratified.

The contract has to undergo a ratification process before it is enacted.  It has already been approved by DC37's Executive Board (Local 1482 president Eileen Muller is a member).  It will next go the Delegates Assembly for consideration (Local 1482 has 5 representatives in the Delegates Assembly).  After that, it will be voted on by the membership through secret ballots delivered in the mail.  A timeline for ratification has not yet been released.

The Local 1482 website will post updates and information on the proposed economic contract as they become available. 

Here is a summary of what is known so far about the agreement:

*    The contract encompasses 7 years and four months, March 3, 2010 to July 2, 2017.  Wage hikes will total 10.41% and members will receive a $1,000 one-time payment upon ratification.  The wage increases break down as follows:
            *  1% retroactive increases for 2011, 2012, and 2013.  1.5% for 2014.                      This will result in a total 4.5% wage increase upon ratification.
            *  2.5% in 2015.
            *  3% in 2016.

*  The agreement calls for a Joint Recruitment and Promotion Study Committee, which will explore means of creating opportunities at higher levels for women and minorities in DC37-covered titles.

*  The contract also creates a plan for DC37 and the City to jointly identify and implement productivity and cost savings.  Money saved through through these efforts will be split evenly between the union and the city.

*  If ratified, the contract will cost the city $1.75 billion over the next four years, a cost that the city plans to offset by $795 million in health care savings, making the final cost $955 million.  The $955 million has already been set aside in the city budget that passed last week.

*  Health and pension plans will remain unchanged.  Members will not see increased costs or loss of services. 
        *  Health care savings will come from an agreement the Municipal Labor              Committee (DC37 is a member) made with the city in May to secure $3.4            billion in health care savings in upcoming city contracts (read more about             the agreement here).
        *  The MLC and the Office of the Mayor will jointly compile a list of health             savings options.  The unions will choose those options which best serve             their members' interests. 

Read more
DC37's News Release, July 2