October 22, 2025
Re: Longevity Pay Compensation for NYC Managerial Employees
Dear Mayor Adams, First Deputy Mayor Mastro, Commissioner Campion,
I am Darrell Sims, President of the NYC Managerial Employees Association (MEA). The MEA advocates for NYC Managerial and Original Jurisdiction Employees (managers) who are not included in New York State Taylor Law collective bargaining agreements with the City of New York. Recognized by the NYC Administration since our inception in 1968, we are the only organization who represents non-union municipal employees.
In recognition of dedicated service and as an incentive for the retention of career managers in civil service, the MEA respectfully requests that longevity pay compensation to be added to the base salaries of qualified managers. A longevity pay plan for managers would provide parity in compensation with non-managerial civil service employees. District Council 37, in conjunction with the Administration, enacted longevity pay compensation for its members in the 1986 Collective Bargaining Agreement. We strongly support uniformity in the structure of employee longevity pay compensation for managers. The longevity pay should not be based on specific managerial civil service titles or managerial levels. It is proposed that longevity compensation be awarded to managers who have maintained at least a satisfactory rating on their performance evaluations and that these pay increases be made at specific milestones of their civil service careers.
Developing and implementing a longevity pay plan can assist the Administration in maintaining a skilled, knowledgeable, experienced, and committed managerial workforce. Longevity compensation can be an incentive to encourage continued employment; reduce hiring and training costs; promote career growth; assist in maintaining favorable reputations for agencies by preserving institutional knowledge to assure consistency and stability in program operations and procedures; and as an attractive financial benefit for employment recruitment. Additionally, the acknowledgement of employee tenure through financial incentives can positively impact morale and job satisfaction.
The MEA proposes a longevity pay plan with a stepped increase upon reaching specified five-year intervals (milestones) of service. The following is a conceptual outline of how eligible managers would earn longevity pay compensation relative to the amount of time spent in managerial titles:
- At the end of five years of service in a civil service managerial title(s), each manager shall receive two thousand dollars ($2,000), based on four hundred dollars ($400) per year of service – in addition to the current salary.
- At the end of ten years of service in a civil service managerial title(s), each manager shall receive an additional two thousand dollars ($2,000) longevity pay compensation – in addition to the current salary.
- At the end of fifteen years of service in a civil service managerial title(s), each manager shall receive an additional two thousand dollars ($2,000) longevity pay compensation – in addition to the current salary.
Further milestones will increase the accumulated longevity pay compensation. For example, at the end of twenty-five years of managerial civil service, ten thousand dollars ($10,000) shall be paid in addition to a manager’s current salary and included in the calculation of pension benefits. It is recommended that longevity pay compensation become pensionable after it is earned for twelve months.
I sincerely appreciate your concern and commitment to fair and reasonable compensation for NYC managers who provide unwavering day-to-day and year-to-year public service to millions of New Yorkers.
Very truly yours,
Darrell L. Sims
