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CUNY, Staff Union Reach Deal After Working Without Contract For Nearly 7 Years

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Unionized staffers have reached an agreement with the City of University of New York after working without a contract for nearly seven years.

CUNY Chancellor James B. Milliken and District Council 37 executive director Henry Garrido announced the tentative contract settlement.

The contract is retroactive to Nov. 1, 2009 and continues through Jan. 31 of next year. It provides a 10.41 percent compounded wage increase, and a $1,000 bonus on ratification of the contract. The contract also includes an annual $200 increase to the welfare fund for all active and retired employees.

The agreement comes after contention between CUNY and its staff. Back in November, about 55 protesters were handcuffed and taken into police custody when at least 200 faculty, staff and students demonstrated outside the CUNY Welcome Center over their lack of a contract.

CUNY said the agreed-upon contract is consistent with the District Council 37 contracts that cover 100,000 members who work in other city agencies, as well as NYC Health + Hospitals, libraries, and museums.

Leaders for the Service Employees International Union Local 3 and the New York State Nurses Association also reached settlements with CUNY with similar terms, CUNY said.

Agreements have yet to be reached with PSC-CUNY, which represents CUNY educational workers, and other unions that represent CUNY faculty and staff.

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