Members of 32BJ SEIU, the union representing more than 34,000 NYC residential building workers, voted to launch a full-blown strike if contract negotiations with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations (RAB), which represents residential building owners, fail.
Without a new contract, union members will go on strike at midnight on April 20.
Leadership from the union, attended meetings in Manhattan, Queens, and downtown Brooklyn last week. They came together to coordinate efforts for a rally that took place on April 15, in preparation for a strike.
Union organizers handed out posters announcing the rally and stickers for their 1,400 strike captains to wear, identifying them to fellow workers and building residents as local leaders for a strike action that could start soon.
With the deadline drawing near for the end of their last contract with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations (RAB), which speaks for residential building owners, building workers say they’re ready to hit the streets to demand better wages and full healthcare coverage. The existing contract for doorpersons, porters, superintendents, handypersons, and resident managers was approved in 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It guarantees full employer-paid family health care, pension benefits, paid leave, and job training. Members of 32BJ SEIU want to keep its employer-paid health care, plus get wage increases that keep pace with inflation, strengthen its pension benefits, and improve working conditions.
Manny Pastreich, president of 32BJ SEIU spoke at the strike captains’ meeting in Brooklyn, urging union members to remain strong: “We’ve got 11 days, 11 days to make this happen,” he said on April 9. “… in the next 11 days, the employers are going to try to see if they can wait us out … It can’t be the way it’s going to go, because for the next 11 days, we’re going to fight for what you all deserve, fight for the wages that you all deserve so you can take care of your families, fight to protect the health care, fight to get a pension improvement that you all deserve for … the years and years you put in.”
Contract negotiations began on March 5, with both sides presenting opening proposals. The union raised its primary concerns, followed by management’s response on March 24. Despite an initially friendly atmosphere, union representatives say RAB’s counteroffers threaten key contract protections.
To garner support before the contract expires, the union will hold a major rally at Manhattan’s Park Ave. & 79th Street on April 15, featuring speakers such as SEIU President April Verrett, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, City Council Speaker Julie Menin, Comptroller Mark Levine, and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
RAB has stood firm so far in its representation of residential building owners. It argues that rising operational costs and the possibility of 0% rent increases on nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments won’t allow it to support wage increases. “We are committed to working with 32BJ to reach a fair contract, but there is still significant distance between the parties,” RAB President Howard Rothschild said in an April 13 statement. “Co-ops and condos basically operate as nonprofits and they are already contending with rising tax burdens and increased common charges.
“32BJ has recognized these facts across the table,” he added, “and we hope that we can work together to confront the economic realities facing the industry.”
RAB says its average doorperson or porter earns about $62,000 annually, while the total annual cost to the employer exceeds $112,000; for a handyperson, the total annual cost to the employer exceeds $119,000. All employees receive top-of-the-line benefits packages that exceed those available in virtually all other union and non-union workplaces. They say these benefits include full family health insurance covering medical, dental, optical, and prescription drugs, with no employee premium contribution.
RAB’s new contract proposals include wage increases, but they also want employees to pay toward their healthcare premiums. Building owners note that the average U.S. employee pays more than $6,850 per year for family coverage, unlike 32BJ SEIU members. RAB has also suggested establishing a new “Tier II” workforce for hires after April 20, with different pay and benefits, along with greater reliance on temporary workers.
Union members say that RAB’s proposed contract is “insulting” and doesn’t uphold the standards of their last labor agreement. Many workers feel they are falling behind due to inflation and rising costs, despite the industry enjoying high rents, soaring property values, and low vacancy rates. “Three in four New Yorkers have had to cut back on necessities and savings due to rising prices,” union representatives note.
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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect 32BJ SEIU’s strike vote.