The tentative contract agreement reached between New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and District Council 37 may indicate a shift in the bargaining tone set by the City. Whereas the Bloomberg motto had been that the unions had to agree to money-saving concessions to help finance their raises, that paradigm appears to have shifted. City officials insist, however, that they are still seeking concessions and are focused on reining in another threat to the city?s budget: the spiraling costs for health care and pensions, which will be the subject of coming talks with District Council 37 and other unions.
See "A New Tone on Concessions", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, July 16, 2006