Luxury New York high-rises face potential strike from thousands of building workers

Prepare to take out your own trash, property firms tell tenants

(AP)

After keeping apartment buildings running throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, doormen and building workers in hundreds of large New York City properties are demanding higher wages and paid leave protections, as the union contract for more than 32,000 workers faces an expiration date that could put the maintenance of some of the city’s luxury high-rises in doubt.

If union workers go on strike, that would mean trash upkeep, deliveries and other building management issues at luxury apartment buildings and multi-million dollar units in super-tall skyscrapers would be left to the residents.

The president of Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, which represents 175,000 workers in 12 states, told The City that management proposals demanding cuts to vacation and sick leave as well as health insurance payments “amount to a slap in the face after the deadliest period to work and live in the history of New York City.”

Building managers are reportedly already sending out notices to tenants, with one firm telling residents in an Upper East Side building that “building activities such as apartment alterations and renovations, moves in and moves out, and deliveries will all be adversely affected,” according to an email obtained by the outlet. “To that end, please schedule or re-schedule such activities so that they do not coincide with a possible strike.”

Another firm warned residents of a Brooklyn property that it will hire a security guard to staff the front door, but the guard won’t operate the intercom, screen guests, or accept packages, and residents will have to haul trash to the street themselves, according to messages obtained by Bloomberg.

Hourly wages for New York building workers are roughly $26.45 on average, or about $55,000 a year, according to the union. Under the 2018 that expires on 20 April, members have received annual pay and benefit increases of about 3.3 per cent – steadily outpaces by rising cost of living expenses, which have surged in the New York area by more than 5 per cent over the last year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“These positions are essential in New York to maintain buildings citywide – from historic Park Avenue luxury co-ops, to new developments in Brooklyn and Long Island City, to rent-stabilized apartments on the Upper West Side,” according to a statement last month from union president Kyle Bragg.

As parties negotiate a new contract, “we expect healthcare and wage increases to be front and center at the bargaining table,” he said.

“This pandemic was just the most recent challenge that our members have overcome,” he added. “And, it has shown how essential our members are to the character and success of New York. We know that the city’s real estate market has made a booming comeback and our members deserve a contract package that recognizes the vital services they deliver each and every day.”

More than 170 union members, including 40 who worked in residential buildings, died from Covid-19, according to the union.

Mr Bragg said he is “not feeling a lot of confidence” as negotiation sessions between the union and property firms continue through the month.

A collective bargaining contract among union members – including building superintendents, porters, maintenance workers, door attendants and others – includes buildings owned or managed by several large property firms that negotiate as a group with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, with properties in every borough except The Bronx.

Workers are demanding a wage that is at least tied to inflation and with no changes to their healthcare plans, which are funded entirely by building and apartment owners.

Howard Rothschild, president of the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, said in a statement to The Independent that “as we continue negotiations with 32BJ, we are working to achieve a fair contract for both sides by [20 April]”.

“Over the past two years, we have worked in partnership to protect workers and residents during the pandemic,” the statement reads. “We are hopeful we can continue to show that our collaboration is the labor relations gold standard in New York and across the country.”

The latest organised labour action – amid a historic wave of union activity, strikes and other worker-led actions throughout the pandemic – also comes as housing costs in the city and across the US have spiked.

Though rental prices across New York City plummeted at the onset of the public health crisis, they have since surged to more than double the national rate. According to Apartment List, rents soared by 33 per cent between January 2021 and January 2022, double the national rate and one of the highest rate increases among the 100 biggest US cities.

The average rent in a two-bedroom apartment in the city topped $2,150 in February, according to the website. In Manhattan, that figure was $3,700, up by nearly 24 per cent from the same month in 2021.