NYC’s residential building workers call contract offer ‘insulting’

In this April 2, 2014 file photo, union and non-union apartment building workers march during a protest and march for a fair contract in New York. On Friday, April 11, 2014, the union representing doormen and other New York City building workers has reached a tentative contract agreement with property owners. The deal announced Friday by Local 32BJ of the Service Employees Union and the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations will provide raises of 11.3 percent over four years. Photo: Craig Ruttle/AP, File

CITYWIDE — THE UNION THAT REPRESENTS 34,000 superintendents, maintenance workers, front desk staff and resident managers in most of the city’s residential buildings (with the exception of the Bronx), said Tuesday it is preparing for a strike after receiving “insulting” contract changes from the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, which represents building owners.

According to a release from 32BJ SEIU, the RAB’s proposals include: shifting the cost of healthcare onto workers via premium sharing; the introduction of a lower-paid “Tier II” workforce; the expansion of temp workers; the weakening of labor contract enforcement; and the lack of a commitment to pension improvements.

While the union points out that the real estate industry is enjoying “record high rents, high property values and historic low vacancy rates,” RAB said on its website that that the industry “is confronting existential threats, including the imposition of 0% rent increases on 1 million rent stabilized NYC apartments, which would severely constrain the industry’s ability to provide wage increases.”

The current four-year master labor agreement between the union and building owners expires on April 20. A strike would affect roughly 600,000 New York City households, according to 32BJ SEIU.

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