With a strike deadline looming, contract negotiations between the owners of apartment buildings and the union that represents doormen and other workers have been complicated by very different views on whether the city’s economy has turned a corner. þþBuilding owners, represented by the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, say that stubbornly high unemployment rates show that the devastation has not passed, and that they must hold down costs after a five-year period in which rent collections decreased and operating costs increased by 27 percent. þþBut the union, which represents 30,000 workers in residential buildings, said that the market hit bottom six months ago, and that the recession did not strike residential buildings owners in the city very hard, with rent declines in the single digits and vacancy rates remaining low. þþ“There’s no question we’ve had a bad economy, but in the residential sector in New York, actually they fared much better than anyplace else in the country,” said Mike Fishman, president of the union, Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union. “More importantly, this is a contract about looking forward, and the economy seems to be picking up.” þþThe two sides have held preliminary negotiations during the last month. But the intense work begins on Thursday, when the leaders of each side are to convene at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers for marathon sessions in an effort to avoid a strike before the contract expires at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. þþThrough the years, the two sides have maintained a respectful relationship. The union has not struck since 1991, when there was a 12-day walkout. Thousands of New Yorkers found themselves figuring out ways to have packages delivered or the trash taken out as members of other unions, including garbage collectors, generally honored picket lines. þþBoth sides said they did not want a strike. But, strengthening their bargaining positions, they have made preparations for one, should negotiations break down. þþThe Realty Advisory Board advised its members to make contingency plans to deal with a potential walkout. The building workers recently approved a strike, and several thousand workers attended a rally on Tuesday night. þþThe workers — doormen, porters, superintendents, elevator operators and handymen — now earn an average of $40,489 a year. Benefits and other costs raise the total per employee to $68,603, said Howard Rothschild, president of the Realty Advisory Board, which represents the owners of 3,200 rental buildings, co-ops and condominiums in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. þþ“I don’t think the real estate industry has a significant problem with the base wage,” Mr. Rothschild said. “It’s that additional $30,000 a year that really costs for the benefits for most employees.” þþThe realty board has proposed several measures to reduce those benefit costs, with an eye toward bringing the next contract in line with larger employment trends. The proposals would, for instance, require current employees to pay 10 percent of their health care premiums; they now pay nothing. New employees would pay 18 percent of the premium. The owners also want to put new employees into a 401(k) pension plan instead of the employer-funded one for current workers. þþThe board is also seeking to slow the pace at which new employees reach the maximum pay and benefits level. Under the current contract, new workers receive 80 percent of full salary for the first 30 months. The building owners’ proposal would add another 30 months at 90 percent before workers reached full salary. þþMr. Fishman said the union had agreed to smaller wage increases in prior negotiations to avoid health care premium payments from employees. He said the union would not agree to lower wages and the loss of the current pension plan for future employees. “That’s a deal breaker,” he said. “We’re not going to agree to that. There’s nothing to negotiate about that.” þþSimilar issues arose during the last round of negotiations, in 2006. Building owners eventually dropped the proposed pension changes and agreed to an 8.5 percent wage increase over four years. þþBut Mr. Rothschild said the economy would make the bargaining more difficult this year, adding “this is not the time for the traditional wage and benefit increases that we’ve seen in the past.” þ
Source: NY Times
