NYC residential building workers vote to authorize strike, which might start Monday
Tens of thousands of doorpersons, porters, supers, handypersons and other New York City residential building workers voted to authorize a strike Wednesday.
Their contract is set to expire Monday, and a strike could follow.
More than 34,000 building employees are members of the Service Employees International Union - Local 32BJ, which held a rally on the Upper East Side Wednesday afternoon.
"We have your back"
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended the rally and delivered remarks, along with City Council Speaker Julie Menin.
"I know that I'm speaking to those who maintain multimillion dollar apartments, and then, when they get home, struggle with how they can make rent on the first of the month," Mamdani said.
"We have your back. We love 32BJ and we are here to make sure you are getting the pay and the health care and the dignity you deserve," Menin said.
Sticking points in the negotiations
Union leaders are looking for increased pay, stronger health care protection, and better retirement benefits for the residential building workers that they represent citywide. They say their wages, health care costs, and retirement benefits need to reflect the rising rates of inflation.
The union says sticking points with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, or RAB, are:
- Shifting the cost of health care to workers via health care premium sharing
- "Tier II workforce" hired after Apr. 20, 2026, get paid less
- Expansion of temporary workers
"Today, we are having 10,000 of our members are coming together on Park Avenue in the residential canyon of where so many of our members work ... to take a strike authorization vote so our members can be ready to say that they will strike if we don't come to a contract agreement on April 20th," 32BJ president Manny Pastreich said.
"I worked through 9/11. I worked through COVID. I worked through Superstorm Sandy," one union member said. "Now the rich and wealthy want to cut into our health care, want to cut into our retirement."
Realty Advisory Board cites "mounting pressures," increased costs
"The New York City residential real estate industry is facing mounting pressures, including the likelihood of 0% rent increases on stabilized units for years to come, overregulation, and rising operating costs. Without meaningful movement to address costs ... the long-term sustainability of the industry and its workforce is at risk," RAB president Howard Rothschild said in a statement.
The RAB said that 32BJ members are part of only 5% of U.S. employees that do not contribute anything to family health care premiums.
Some 1.5 million New York City residents would be impacted if the strike actually goes forward Monday.
The last strike was in 1991, more than three decades ago. Garbage piled up on sidewalks as private sanitation workers refused to cross picket lines. It lasted for 12 days.
The RAB says its members are preparing for a potential strike to ensure building operations continue, including hiring security.
