NYC Mayor Eric Adams announces nearly 20% raises under tentative agreement with 11 labor unions

Firefighters, jail guards, police supervisors and sanitation officers are among the municipal workers getting raises of nearly 20% under a proposed contract agreement totaling $4 billion announced Thursday by New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The compounded raises would be 3.25% on the first day of the first year, then 3.25% a year later, 3.5% for the next two years and 4% a year after that, according to Adams' labor relations commissioner, Renee Campion.

The agreement covers about 32,000 city employees. 

The deal, with raises totaling 18.77%, covers dozens of job titles, an Adams spokesman said. 

Among them is firefighter, with the current minimum before the contract going to $56,287 from $47,394, and the maximum to $109,352 from $92,073, without overtime and other pay being factored in. The highest-paid job title in the coalition is police deputy chief inspector, with the minimum going to $203,092 from $171,001, and the maximum going to $244,672 from $206,011.

Adams announced the deal in the City Hall rotunda, standing in front of the heads of the 11 labor unions, whose members must approve the deal.

“I’m pretty sure many of the presidents of the unions stated to themselves, ‘We have a blue-collar mayor coming in so we gonna get a blue-collar agreement and finally our guys and ladies are going to get the contract they deserve,’ ” Adams said.

The unions covered in the announcement are the Detectives Endowment Association, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, the Lieutenants Benevolent Association, the Captains Endowment Association, the Uniformed Firefighters Association, the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, the Correction Captains Association, the Assistant Deputy Wardens, the Sanitation Officers Association and the Uniformed Sanitation Chiefs Association.

Campion said the deal also calls for a 0.21% "economic benefit that is in all of these contracts that we are going to use to spend to address recruitment and retention issues. That will be negotiated separately with each individual union, as well as their individual unit terms."

Earlier this week, Adams announced that city public school teachers would get raises of nearly 20% — with minimum pay of $72,349 and $151,271 for the most experienced — under a five-year, $6.4 billion contract that awards permanent annual bonuses to discourage quitting and allows some virtual instruction. 

In April, Adams announced a $5.5 billion deal with the largest police union, the Police Benevolent Association.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.