Catherwood LibraryILR School

Over 15,000 members of the New York Police Department and the Fire Department of New York took to the streets of New York City today to protest raise offers from Mayor Michael Bloomberg that will leave these 9/11 heroes significantly underpaid compared to colleagues in surrounding areas. NYC firefighters make only $425 a week as rookies and have been working without a contract for twenty-seven months without a contract, having decided not to accept a tentative agreement on a five percent raise after 343 of their brothers died in the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center (see WIT for June 12, 2002). NYC police officers are concerned by rumors that a binding arbitration panel it has submitted its contract negotiations to for the first time will be won over by the mayor?s fiscal crisis arguments for offering a five percent increase over two years, instead of the twenty-three percent sought b y the officers to achieve parity with surrounding areas (see WIT for Aug. 9, 2002).