We deserve fair Unit Contracts that keep pace with our evolving job demands

Every day, Local 768’s nearly 4,000 members demonstrate professionalism, dedication, and resilience in public service roles that cover over 50 different titles and disciplines. Our work is essential to maintaining vital public services within NYC Health + Hospitals, NYC Department of Health, and numerous other city agencies. However, our compensation, benefits, and working conditions have not kept pace with the rising cost of living, increased workloads, and evolving job demands.

We respectfully demand that our new Social Services and Health Services Unit contracts include:

• Added pay for added skills
  • Licensure Differential
  • Longevity Differentials (augment / add where missing)
• Acknowledge the risks we face
  • Correctional Setting Assignment Differential
  • Grant-funded position Assignment Differential
• Support us staying
  • Transferring within our agencies as our lives change
  • Location premium for living in 5 boroughs
  • Ease residency requirements for Mayoral agencies
• Improving the work/life balance
  • Workload limits to improve care and reduce burnout
  • Expanded and strengthened hybrid work options
  • Options for alternate work schedules/compressed schedules (i.e. 4 day work week with longer hours each day)
• Equal pay for equal work
  • All employees in the same title and level receive the same base pay
  • Pay us before outsourcing to temp agencies or affiliates

We believe that investing in Local 768 workers is an investment in the quality and reliability of public services. Fair contracts are not only justified—they are necessary. We urge our agency leadership to negotiate in good faith and reach an agreement that honors the contributions of every member.

Click here to download our flyer!

Frequently asked questions

What are our specific demands? 

How do these bargaining priorities (outlined above) actually fit into the contract? You can review those specific proposals here:

• Social Services Unit Contract (click here) proposals, applicable to:
  • Social Workers
  • Community Service Aide
  • Inspector (Consumer & Worker Protection)
  • Early Childhood Education Consultants
  • Mental Health Standards and Services Consultant
  • Market Agent
  • Sanitation Compliance Agent
  • Mental Health Workers
• Health Services Unit Contract (click here) proposals, applicable to:
  
  • Public Health Advisors
  • Public Health Sanitarians
  • Respiratory Therapists
  • Medical Record Specialists
  • Dental Assistants and Hygienists
  • Licensed Creative Arts Therapists
  • Health Care Program Planner or Analyst
  • Physician Assistants
  • Physical & Occupational Therapists & Assistants
  • Medicolegal Investigator (OCME)
  • Nutritionists
  • Rehabilitation Counselors
  • Utilization Review Analysts & Coordinators
  • Audiologists, Speech Pathologists & Clinicians
  • Environmental Health Technicians
  • Mental Health Assistants

How does this relate to my base wages?

The Unit Contracts do not determine the general increases to our base wages, also called "regular wages" on many of our pay stubs. Those general increases are determined by our Economic Contract. Our current Economic Contract was ratified in March 2023, and covers the period of time from May 26, 2021 to November 6, 2026. Our last general wage increase was 3.25% in May of 2025, and there are no additional general wage increases scheduled under the current contract, so your next increase in base wages will be determined by DC37's negotiations with Mayor Mamdani for our next Economic Contract.  

To review, there are three main contracts that apply to each of us (all available here):

• Citywide Contract: Addresses general working conditions and other non-wage matters such as holidays, time and leave accruals, eligibility for health insurance coverage and personnel practices. While it doesn't detail your base wage, it does detail how you earn overtime, shift differentials and holiday pay.
• Economic Contract: Determines the overall general wage increases for the majority of DC 37 members. It also includes a specific amount of money available for Unit Bargaining
• Unit Contracts: Wages, differentials and working conditions for designated groups of workers called “bargaining units”. Each unit contract defines items unique to the titles in the unit

Why is there a limit on the amount of money available for these negotiations?

DC37's Citywide Contract hasn't changed much over the past 20 years, but the Economic Contract is the primary focus of negotiations every few years. Our current Economic Contract was ratified in March 2023, and covers the period of time from May 26, 2021 to November 6, 2026. In addition to the annual raises to base pay (mostly 3% each year), this agreement also sets aside money for Unit Bargaining, found in Section 7:

Additional Compensation Funds

Effective May 26, 2023, or the applicable date of the Successor Separate Unit Agreement, each bargaining unit shall have available funds not to exceed 0.50% to purchase recurring benefits, mutually agreed to by the parties. The funds shall be based on the December 31, 2020 payroll, including spinoffs and pensions.

Like most DC37 members, all of our members in Local 768 are assigned to Bargaining Units based on your title:

Once the Economic Contracts are ratified, DC37's negotiators begin planning a process for Unit Bargaining. Each unit will bargain separately, including the Local Presidents representing members within that unit and sometimes a Bargaining Committee of members from that Local as well.

The amount of money was defined by the Economic Contract: "Each bargaining unit shall have available ... 0.50% ... based on the December 31, 2020 payroll". In other words, 0.50% of the amount of money that the City paid out to all of the members within a given Bargaining Unit. The actual dollar-amount will therefore depend on both the number of workers in a Bargaining Unit and their total pay. Here is how that breaks down for the three Bargaining Units that Local 768 members are in:

What is Local 768's Unit bargaining process and strategy?

Local 768 has been preparing for Unit Bargaining over the past several years, starting with a training program in the Summer of 2023 (see an outline here), our first Bargaining Unit meetings in August 2023, where we began soliciting bargaining demands and then establishing our Bargaining Committees in early 2024. Throughout 2024 we conducted extensive surveying of our membership, with over 1,300 members submitting their thoughts and priorities. From there, our Bargaining Committees developed specific, practical and realistic proposals on how to accomplish our members' priorities through changes to our unit contracts.

In addition to the economic demands that clearly cost the City money (see examples from prior rounds of bargaining below), non-economic demands can also be discussed. However, the City is often not required to bargain over non-economic demands, but it can if their leaders wish to do so, or are pressured to do so. Unfortunately the people representing the City in formal negotiations are not people we really have access to; they are bureaucrats in the NYC Office of Labor Relations ur task is to make them want to take our demands seriously. 

Our strategy is simple: We say to every manager who will listen,

We know that you don't directly negotiate the contract, but you can support us by telling the executives above you that our demands are fair, reasonable and will help us provide quality service to New Yorkers across the city. 

Even though the money available in the Unit Bargaining process is limited & we may not win all our demands, we believe that together we can convince the City to seriously negotiate both the economic and the non-economic changes to our unit contracts that are important to us. 

Prior rounds of unit bargaining: What was the result?

The Economic Contract covering the period from 2017 - 2021 included an Additional Compensation Fund of 0.2% to be allocated through Unit Bargaining, which was finalized in Apr 2021. Here are the highlights that applied to Local 768 members:

• Health Services 2021 Additional Compensation Fund Agreement
  • Increased the amount of 1st year Recurring Increment Payments (RIP) for the entire bargaining unit to $554 / yr (up from $480) after completing 1 yr
  • Increased Uniform Allowance for Dental Asst/Dental Hygienist to $500 (up from $282)
  • Add Creative Arts Therapist Occupational Group’s Assignment Differential for DOC/Correctional Health ($2,439 / yr)
  • Add Admin Public Health Sanitarian to RIP
  • Add Admin Public health Sanitarian to APHS3 Longevity Differential
• Social Services 2021 Additional Compensation Fund Agreement
  • Increase the amount of the 10-year Recurring Increment Payment (RIP) for entire bargaining unit to $603 / yr (up from $521) after completing 10 yrs
  • Increase the employer contribution to the DC37 Annuity Plan to $794 / yr (up from $724) for all bargaining unit members
• Blue Collar 2020 Additional Compensation Fund Agreement
  • Created new Recurring Increment Payment of $167 for all non-supervisory titles after completing 5 yrs
  • Created new Recurring Increment Payment of $297 for all supervisory titles after completing 5 yrs

Economic Contract covered the period from 2010 - 2017 included an Additional Compensation Fund of 0.52% to be allocated through Unit Bargaining, which were finalized in Aug 2017. Here are the highlights that applied to Local 768 members:

• Health Services 2017 Additional Compensation Fund
  • Creating Assignment Differential of $600 / yr for Public Health Sanitarians and Associate Public Health Sanitarians who are regularly assigned field work and must carry and store work equipment
  • Added Creative Arts Therapists to the list of titles eligible for Recurring Increment Payments (Additional $480 after completing 1 yr, then $154 for each year thereafter up to 20 yrs)
  • A general wage increase of 0.3022%
• Social Services 2017 Additional Compensation Fund
  • Increase the employer contribution to the DC37 Annuity Plan to $724 / yr (up from $684) for all bargaining unit members
  • Created a Recurring Increment Payment of $500 for all bargaining unit members after completing 10 years of service
• Blue Collar 2017 Additional Compensation Fund
  • Added additional Recurring Increment Payments of $794 for all non-supervisory titles ($424 for supervisory titles) after completing 15 yrs of service

We are preparing for discussions regarding Mayor-elect Mamdani's plans for reorganization of mental health services, particular as they relate to Mobile Crisis Teams, NYPD Co-Response Teams, B-HEARD, ACT Teams and outpatient Behavioral Health Clinics. Unfortunately, the membership information we receive from H+H and DOHMH does not include any information regarding your assignment, so we will only know if you tell us... Please indicate your primary assignment on this page. 

The Local 768 Election Committee oversaw the elections for the following officers of four Chapters over the last few months:

• Dental hygienists & assistants: Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary
• Licensed Creative Arts Therapists (LCAT): Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary
• Medical Record Specialists: Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary
• Public Health Advisors and Assistants: Vice-Chairperson (Runoff)

For each chapter*, nominations were solicited and all nominees were verified as eligible candidates and provided with an opportunity to decline the nomination if they so chose.

* Except for PHA, which held a runoff election and had already nominated candidates

Nominations are open for leadership of the following Chapters to be formed:

• Dental Assistants & Hygienists
• Licensed Creative Arts Therapists (LCAT)
• Medical Record Specialists

Nominations will now be accepted through February 25. After nominations, we will schedule an election to be held online and by mail as soon as possible if more than one nominee is confirmed for any of the positions listed below.

Use this form to submit nominations for the leadership positions of Chapters. Our constitution requires that each chapter that is established has chapter leaders elected by the members of that chapter

• Chair: Primary leader, responsible for scheduling and chairing meetings
• Vice-Chair: Assists the Chair as needed
• Secretary: Responsible for taking minutes of meetings, maintaining records and assisting in communications

To learn more about the roles and responsibilities for these positions, please visit our About->Chapters page here.

The Local 768 Election Committee oversaw the elections for the following officers of four Chapters over the two few months:

• Social Work Chapter: Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary
• Public Health Sanitarians: Run-off election for Vice-Chairperson
• Public Health Advisors and Assistants: Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary
• DCWP Inspectors: Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary

For each chapter, nominations were solicited and all nominees were verified as eligible candidates and provided with an opportunity to decline the nomination if they so chose.

The Local 768 Election Committee oversaw the election of our delegates to the 2024 AFSCME Convention. We used an election vendor, ElectionBuddy, for this election.

After nominees were verified as eligible candidates and provided with an opportunity to decline the nomination if they so chose, the election began on June 19th, 2024 and concluded on July 11th, 2024. Per AFSCME constitutional requirements, all eligible voters were sent notice (via USPS mail, as well as email and text message where that information was available) of how to vote online, or if they chose, how to request a paper ballot. Each voter was asked to vote for up to 7 candidates. For delegate elections, the 7 candidates with the most votes are deemed elected. In this election, those are:

• Ryan McGuire
• Tishana King
• Lisa Blackett
• Charlton Smith
• Anthony Scruggs
• Tracey White
• Dorcas Bethel

Building Solidarity and Women’s History: March 2024            

In this issue:

• Uniting for a City That Works for All New Yorkers

• Organize, Fight, Win

• Bargaining update: Bargaining Survey 

• Join Us: AFSCME International Convention

• Leaders Building Leaders: Labor Notes + Local 768

• Member Spotlight: Education + Citizenship

• Join Us: April 10 Membership Meeting 

• Contribute! Share your story

At our Social Work Chapter meeting Wednesday Sept 13, we outlined a new strategy for our concerns regarding how H+H has calculated the retroactive base pay raises implemented as part of our latest contract. The bottom line is that other agencies of the NYC government are calculating these raises differently, in accordance with NYC Office of Payroll Administration guidance (an entity not part of H+H) (click to review the contract and policy). In these other agencies, the retroactive raises were calculated in addition to other adjustments made since the start of this contract (May 25, 2021). We believe this is valid grounds to grieve H+H's improper implementation of our contract.

However, filing a grievance is not the same as winning a grievance, and to do that we need your help: We want to get a majority of Social Workers in H+H to sign onto our group grievance to show H+H that we're all united on this issue.

Click here to sign our grievance:

As Social Workers, our ability to provide quality care to our clients depends on having the time needed to listen, evaluate and plan our interventions. Of course we also need to do the follow up, and document, document, document. It's a lot!

Unions of other caring professions employed by NYC -- like nurses and teachers -- have adopted strategies that have successfully forced their employers to bargaining over their workloads. For nurses, they fought hard to win fair 'nurse:patient ratios'. Similarly, for teachers, it's all about class size. For these workers, there are nationally recognized benchmarks that help them figure out what the demand ought to be.

For Social Workers, there is no nationally recognized standard workload, so if we want to put up a strong fight to win caseload standards, we need to develop that goal ourselves. That is the purpose of this survey: We need to know your experience, so that we can formulate a goal that meets your needs, for your clients.

Please take just a few minutes to answer these questions, and encourage all other Social Worker in Local 768 to fill it out as well!

One of the goals of our union has been to help our members find ways to benefit from loan repayment programs. Understanding these programs can be complicated, and eligibility criteria vary. We have compiled this guide of several programs to help you get started in the process, but please be sure to confirm all details directly with the appropriate program administrators.

Comparison of Loan Repayment and Forgiveness programs

• Chair: Karen Ramirez (H+H / Elmhurst)
• Secretary: Sharon Bryan (H+H / Community Care)

Please join our nation union Wednesday, January 19 for an important webinar to find out how AFSCME members can qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

Register for the webinar

PSLF is a federal student loan relief program established in 2007 and designed to encourage individuals to enter and continue to work full-time in public sector jobs. Participation in the program generally requires that the borrower have a federal Direct Loan, be employed by a qualified employer on a full-time basis and make 120 loan payments under a qualifying repayment plan. Upon meeting these requirements, the borrower’s loans are to be forgiven. The Department of Education has announced temporary changes to PSLF that expands the number of public service workers who are eligible for loan forgiveness. These changes will expire October 31, 2022, so make sure you don’t miss this opportunity.

First dose of Vaccination is to be done by Monday November 1, 2021 to be in compliance with the new mandate from Mayor de Blasio. To receive the $500.00 bonus the first dose must be completed by 5pm Friday October 29, 2021. The union continues to bargain over the impact the mandate has on the members.

Thank you,

Carmen De León,
President Local 768 DC37
AFSCME, AFL-CIO