NYC avoids dreaded doorman strike with tentative union agreement
Just two days after a large rally on Park Avenue in Manhattan, a union representing about 34,000 doormen and other residential building service workers in New York City said it had averted a strike by reaching a tentative contract with owners of about 3,500 apartment buildings.
Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union had warned it could strike as soon as Tuesday if it could not agree on a new contract with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, which represents the building owners. The current contract expires Monday, and both sides had said talks were tense and a deal did not seem close.
By Friday afternoon, leaders from both sides announced at a Midtown hotel the basic terms of a new four-year contract that would end strike threats and spare apartment residents from having to take out trash or sort packages. Tenants had even circulated sign-up sheets to volunteer for those tasks in case of a strike.
“If there was a strike, everyone loses,” said Howard Rothschild, president of the Realty Advisory Board. “We wanted to figure out a way to win.”
Rothschild said the deal was a win for owners, residents, the union, and workers, and would preserve “labor peace” in an industry that has not seen a strike since a 12-day walkout in 1991.
Union president Manny Pastreich said workers secured most of their demands, including wage increases totaling $4.50 per hour over the contract, continued full employer-paid health care for workers and their families, and a 15 percent increase in pension benefits.
