Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday a landmark agreement to increase pay and benefits for District Council 37, the city's largest public employee union.

The agreement includes a minimum wage bump to $18 an hour, which is above the state minimum of $14.20. Workers will also get annual raises. Adams says the city owes it to the 911 operators, social service workers, food service workers and others in the union.

A large portion of the money is going toward pandemic preparedness after COVID-19 caught the city off guard.

Another portion of money is also going toward recruitment and retention with the goal to add more employees and keep them.