NYC, teachers union reach preliminary agreement on 9-year contract
New York City and its largest teachers union struck a deal on a new contract Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced, ending a nearly five-year labor dispute and potentially setting a template for negotiations with the city’s other unions.
Teachers will receive back pay equivalent of nearly 8 percent of their salaries and a series of additional small raises through 2018, according to the nine-year contract, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press in advance of the deal announcement.
The contract, which will expire after de Blasio runs for re-election, also will fund merit pay for teachers and provides the city $1 billion in health care savings over the length of the deal, an important point among city negotiators wary of the budgetary strain caused by rising health care costs across the municipal labor force. De Blasio noted that the agreement is being funded within the city’s current budget framework and called it a victory for taxpayers.