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by MICHAEL SCHOLL
In a rare show of solidarity, tens of thousands of police officers, firefighters and public school teachers gathered in front of City Hall yesterday to demand that Mayor Michael Bloomberg pay them higher wages.
A sizable contingent of Staten Islanders took part in the demonstration, organized by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, the Uniformed Firefighters Association and the United Federation of Teachers.
PBA and UFA members have been working without a contract since July 2002, while the last contract between the city and the UFT expired last year.
"I know from years of experience how hard it is to live on a police officer's salary," said Maria Dziergowski, an Oakwood resident whose late husband, Police Officer Matthew Dziergowski, was killed in a line-of-duty car accident on Valentine's Day 1999.
"My husband had to work two jobs just to make ends meet, not for vacations or anything extra, just to pay the bills," she said.
"I've always felt that my son and I lost very precious time with Matthew due to the demands of his second job," added Mrs. Dziergowski, who was one of the speakers at yesterday's rally.
Union officials said about 60,000 people attended yesterday afternoon's demonstration, with the crowd filling seven blocks of Broadway from Park Place to Worth Street.
The planning for the rally was a rare joint effort among the three powerful labor unions, which have all become increasingly frustrated with their inability to reach contract agreements with the Bloomberg administration.
Yesterday, PBA president Pat Lynch said that, with wages they currently earn, city police officers feel like they're "New York's Poorest" rather than "New York's Finest."
"We are not asking to be rich like you, Mr. Mayor," said Lynch, from a stage facing the cheering demonstrators. "All we're asking for is to make our lives better for our families, like we have for yours."
Said UFT president Randi Weingarten, "It is a disgrace to call us the Finest, the Bravest and the Brightest and not to treat us as the Finest, the Bravest and the Brightest."
UFA president Stephen Cassidy told the throng that a rookie firefighter in Yonkers earns a larger base salary than a 20-year FDNY veteran.
"It's a disgrace," said Cassidy. "This mayor must not only pay firefighters a fair wage, he needs to pay us what we are worth."
Cassidy called upon union members to call the city 311 hotline and tell the operators that firefighters, teachers and police officers deserve a significant raise. "Take your cell phones out today and don't stop [calling]," Cassidy said. Contract talks have stalled because Bloomberg administration negotiators want cops, firefighters and teachers to accept a deal similar to the three-year contract agreed to in April by District Council 37, the union representing 121,000 civilian municipal workers.
DC 37 members worked without a contract from June 30, 2002, until their new contract, which gives each member an immediate $1,000 cash payment, was ratified last week.
DC 37 members also were granted a 3 percent wage increase retroactive to July 1, 2003, a 2 percent pay increase effective July 1 of this year and a possible 1 percent increase later this year if productivity goals are met.
In exchange, DC 37 agreed to changes in work rules and a lower wage scale for new hires.
DC 37 is the city's largest municipal union, representing a little more than a third of the city workforce. Its contract normally sets the pattern for contracts the city reaches with its other unions.
But cops, teachers and firefighters who attended yesterday's rally believe the DC 37 deal is not good enough for them because it would still leave them with salaries lower than those earned by their suburban counterparts. "I'm very outraged," said Dominic Roberto of Great Kills, a firefighter who works at Engine Co. 282 in Borough Park, Brooklyn. "We do the city a great deal. We're involved in all aspects of everyday life. We all deserve a little raise."
"The cost of living goes up, gas goes up, milk goes up, and we haven't budged salarywise," said Gabriella Corrigan of Westerleigh, who teaches reading at PS 31 in New Brighton.
"They give us medals, but medals don't pay the bills," said Firefighter Vinny Molinini, a Huguenot resident who works at Engine Co. 151 in Tottenville. "We can't melt down the medals from 9/11 and sell them."
Bloomberg administration officials contend the city is still in the middle of severe financial difficulties and can't afford to give cops, teachers and firefighters a big raise unless they agree to productivity gains.
"It's great to be a mayor handing out raises, but we just don't have the money," said Bloomberg during a public appearance yesterday morning.
Administration officials also argue that cops, firefighters and teachers already receive significant pension and fringe benefits on top of their base salaries. According to figures provided by the mayor's office, an entry-level police officer's total annual compensation is $61,094. That figure includes $40,424 in direct compensation and $20,670 in pension and fringe benefits.
The total compensation for a police officer with 10 years experience is $104,760, according to the mayor's office, while a 10-year veteran firefighter earns a total annual compensation of $111,682.
The total annual compensation for public school teachers is $53,979 for entry-level instructors and $86,812 for teachers with 10 years experience, according to the mayor's office.
Steve Malzberg, a conservative WABC-AM talk radio host, was the master of ceremonies for yesterday's rally.
It featured speeches from union leaders, Democratic elected officials and celebrities, including New York Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury and actors Alec Baldwin and Steve Buscemi, a former city firefighter whose character on HBO TV's "The Sopranos" was whacked on Sunday during the season finale.
"This is the greatest city in the world and you are the greatest workers that we have," Buscemi told the crowd. "And you should be paid for what you're worth."
Advance news reporter Ryan G. Murphy contributed to this report.
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