In the latest victory for New York City unions facing tough talk from City Hall (see WIT for Feb. 6, 2003), principals and assistant principals working in the city school system without a contract for two years have won a tentative twenty-seven-month agreement. The contract proposal---which would expire at the end of June---provides for retroactive raises ranging from eight to eleven percent the members of the Council of Supervisors and Administrators, and does not give any ground on work rule concessions. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has repeatedly told municipal unions that he would not approve retroactive raises in contract negotiations that have run past the expiration of existing agreements, or any raises not linked to work rule concessions, but has had to compromise on both points (see WIT for Jan. 21, 2003).
See "Raises, and No Concessions, in Principals' New Contract", ABBY GOODNOUGH, The New York Times, April 2, 2003