Mayor, Union Agree On New Contract

District Council 37, the city's largest municipal labor union (1.1 million members) has negotiated a tentative contract with the Bloomberg administration which calls for salary increases of 10 percent over the next 32 months.

The agreement also changes an existing residency requirement forcing city workers to live within the city. If finalized, the new regulation would permit the union's members to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Rockland Counties, the same ruling governing members of the city's uniformed forces.

However, no productivity or other givebacks were announced with the salary benefits. But James F. Hanley, the city's labor commissioner, has said the city hasn't closed the door to continuing efforts to try to get the union to agree to concessions on pension costs or healthcare costs.

The union had said at the start of these negotiations that it was strongly set against giving up any part of the existing pension or healthcare benefits.

However, it would appear there might be a fair chance that the mayor could win some points on these two issues. The previous contract negotiated with DC 37 was favorable to the huge union, and it was followed during last year's mayoral campaign with a glowing endorsement of Bloomberg from the powerful labor organization.

In the past, the mayor has spoken

of trying to enact pension changes

that would only apply to future union members, but some labor organizations have resisted such a change.

Despite, the $5 billion surplus expected to result when the new budget is enacted, the city, like most employers, finds that pension and healthcare costs are increasing at a sharp rate and must be reined in. The mayor hopes that he can be successful in these endeavors regarding the pension and healthcare givebacks because what happens now will set a precedent for similar givebacks from other municipal unions. Otherwise those two items will continue to grab a large percentage of budget dollars.

SABINI-MONSERRATE SET TO GO IF... In a race that could be both contentious and interesting, incumbent Jackson Heights state Senator John Sabini and City Councilmember Hiram Monserrate (Corona), who is challenging Sabini in the Democratic primary, last week filed what appear to be sufficient nominating petitions to get on the primary ballot.

Sabini reported he filed 10,000 signatures and Monserrate said he handed in 10,500. The required minimum amount for each was 1,000 signatures, so it appears there's room for either to withstand a challenge.

Meanwhile, in the campaign financing department, a spokesman said Sabini has raised $140,000, has $110,000 on hand and hopes eventually to spend a quarter of a million dollars on the campaign.

Monserrate said, meanwhile, that he's taken in "over $200,000", but has already spent $50,000 of it.

Monserrate said he plans today to introduce a bill which would require that all funding requested by and allocated to individual councilmembers in the city budget include the name and district number of the sponsoring councilmember as well as the amount each member contributed to each organization and also post the list online immediately following the council's passing the budget.

Presently, each member each year can request that a certain amount of funding be given to community groups, arts organizations and youth groups, among others.

However, Monserrate notes, although the group and amount are listed in the budget, the individual councilmember who made the request or the amount requested, are not listed.

"This legislation is about transparency and accountability, the tools our residents need and deserve to ensure their tax dollars are used responsibly," the lawmaker stated.

PADAVAN INDEPENDENCE PARTY CANDIDATE: State Senator Frank Padavan (R-C, Bellerose) has easily managed to win many elections with just Republican and Conservative endorsements, but this year, for good measure, he will also have the Independence Party line on the November ballot.

The party endorsed him at its July 8 meeting, noting his independence as a lawmaker and his record in bringing benefits to his district.

Padavan said he was elated to have received the designation. "It shows me that I've lived up to the parties' expectation and that they support me to run for this seat once again," he said.

On the other side of the ledger, Padavan's announced opponent in the general election, attorney Nora Marino of Little Neck, got a show of support from Democratic Party elected officials when she announced her candidacy last week.

Democratic Assemblymembers Mark Weprin (Little Neck), Ann-Margaret Carrozza (Bayside) and Nettie Mayersohn (Flushing) and state Senator Toby Ann Stavisky (Flushing) expressed strong support and good wishes.

The Queens organization's executive secretary, Michael Reich, who supervises all the party's races, said the Marino campaign will be a priority this year and that he had "a special feeling" about it. Along the same line, Carrozza said Marino's candidacy reminded her and her colleagues of Carrozza's 1996 upset victory in which she defeated Republican Douglas Prescott, who had served the Bayside area for many years.

DEM AG PRIMARY: According to filings of nominating petitions with the state Board of Elections in Albany, frontrunner attorney general candidate Andrew Cuomo will be facing Mark Green, Sean Patrick Maloney and Charlie King in the Democratic primary on September 12.

Cuomo's three opponents each filed petitions with about 50,000 signatures, well over the 15,000 needed to get on the primary ballot and enough to fight off any effort to invalidate the signings.

However, Cuomo remains a strong favorite to win the nomination, based on his long string of party and other endorsements, which indicate a strong campaign able to reach many regular primary voters.

Jeanine Pirro, the Republican candidate to oppose the Democratic primary winner, reported last week that she has raised $2.7 million for her campaign. That amount is considerably less than Cuomo, who had $4.2 million in the bank as of the January filing date and has still to announce what he's raised since then.

Pirro, former Westchester District Attorney, also had some bad news last week when her husband, Albert, was arrested for speeding in Westchester. Stories reporting the alleged 98 mile-per-hour violation also included the information about his federal tax fraud conviction in 2000.