NEW YORK – A tentative agreement has been forged between union leaders and building owners, potentially preventing a strike involving thousands of New York City’s apartment staff, including doormen and superintendents. This development affects the residences of approximately 1.5 million people.
The accord was reached just in time, as the existing contract for nearly 34,000 workers was set to lapse at midnight on Monday.
Notably, the union, 32BJ SEIU, has not initiated a strike in 35 years. In anticipation of a potential work stoppage, many tenants, co-op proprietors, and condo residents across the city were preparing to manage tasks such as taking out trash, deferring renovations, reducing deliveries, and volunteering for lobby duties and maintenance tasks.
Details of the agreement have not been disclosed yet, but a press conference featuring the union president and a representative of the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations was scheduled for Friday afternoon to provide further information.
The proposed contract is now set to be voted on by union members.
In recent days, negotiations became increasingly strained. The union was particularly resistant to proposals from building owners that would require workers to contribute to health insurance premiums and introduce a lower-paid job classification for future hires.
Workers also sought to boost wages and pensions, saying it is tough to pay New York-area bills on wages that average about $62,000 a year for a doorperson, with varying averages for the other jobs. Meanwhile, workers noted, employers have collected sharply rising rents in recent years for market-rate apartments, especially in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The Realty Advisory Board said the union was being unrealistic at a time when owners’ costs also are rising and landlords face a potential rent freeze on 1 million rent-stabilized apartments. The idea has been championed by new Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat who joined the workers Wednesday at a huge rally where they authorized a potential strike.
The union’s last strike, in 1991, lasted 12 days.
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