With apartment building workers preparing for a possible strike after midnight tonight, residents in about 3,000 unionized buildings in New York City are planning ways to step in for their doormen, janitors, elevator operators, superintendents and handymen.þþFor some residents, that means being ready to serve a stint at the front desk. For others, it means preparing to bring in their own takeout food and to pick up their laundry instead of having it delivered.þþÿWe've hired a temporary security guard, and all the tenants are going to take turns sitting with him, and sorting mail and so forth,ÿ said Ruth Kraus, who was walking near her building on Riverside Drive and 72nd Street yesterday afternoon. ÿIt's all on a volunteer basis so far.ÿþþNegotiators said yesterday that there was a real possibility that many of the city's apartment building workers would go on strike early tomorrow morning. The union representing 28,000 workers and the organization of building owners reported little progress after repeated negotiating sessions yesterday, the first day they had met face to face in more than a week. The strike would affect about one million residents.þþÿWe don't have any progress to report,ÿ said Michael Fishman, president of Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, at an afternoon news conference. ÿAt this point we are not close. We are so far apart that a strike is a good possibility.ÿþþAt a separate news conference minutes later, James F. Berg, president of the Realty Advisory Board, which negotiates for building owners and managers, was a bit more optimistic. ÿBoth sides are far apart,ÿ Mr. Berg said. ÿBut we're talking, and as long as we're talking, that's a good sign.ÿþþA strike would involve doormen, janitors, elevator operators, superintendents and handymen at buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Unionized buildings in the Bronx are covered by a separate agreement.þþThe two sides said they were presenting modified offers in their talks yesterday at the Sheraton New York Hotel, but declined to discuss details.þþAs a result of the new offers, Mr. Berg said, ÿI think we've moved at least a tiny bit closer together.ÿþþThe two top negotiators made it clear that wages were the main point of contention. In its original offer, management proposed a wage freeze for three years, with one-time payments of $500 in the second and third years. Without giving specific numbers, Local 32BJ officials said they were seeking a substantial raise that more than kept up with inflation.þþMr. Berg argued that a wage freeze was appropriate because the real estate market was weak and because building operating costs have soared as a result of higher property taxes, fuel costs and insurance premiums. ÿThe real estate market has had a very difficult time over the past year,ÿ he said. ÿOperating costs are sky high.ÿþþBut Mr. Fishman said he would not compromise on his refusal to accept a wage freeze. He said that real estate prices remained well above levels of the late 1990's and that apartment building workers, too, had faced higher costs, including subway fares and gasoline prices. ÿTo ask us to give up a raise when the industry is still healthy is not reasonable,ÿ Mr. Fishman said.þþHe said the union had appointed 450 strike captains and set up eight strike offices around the city to distribute about 30,000 picket signs and coordinate shifts for pickets. Under the union's plan, if there is a strike, doormen will demonstrate outside the buildings where they work.þþJohn Battle, a doorman on the East Side, said, ÿWe believe the tenants are backing us 100 percent.ÿþþThe Realty Advisory Board has sent manuals to its unionized buildings, advising tenants on preparations. Many buildings have asked tenants to carry garbage downstairs and have set up a schedule for tenants who have volunteered to watch the front door. Some building managers also plan to hire security guards for the front door.þþThe starting salary for doormen and janitors is $27,400, rising to $34,300 after 30 months, making them the nation's highest-paid building service workers.þþAsserting that this level of pay was not unreasonable, Mr. Fishman said, ÿIn the highest-cost city in the country, these are not very high wages.ÿþþBut Mr. Berg said wage restraint was needed because with fringe benefits, the total compensation for Local 32BJ's members was $53,000 a year. While refusing to say what the union was demanding, Mr. Berg said Local 32BJ was asking for raises of more than 3 percent a year. He indicated that both sides would change their wage offers as the evening progressed.þþMr. Fishman said, ÿI'm hopeful that we reach an agreement, but I'm not optimistic.ÿþþAt the Park Belvedere Condominiums at 101 West 79th Street, where residents were told they could not have painting or construction done during a strike and should minimize entertaining, a 35-year-old resident spoke in favor of the union. ÿI come from a working-class neighborhood, and both my parents were blue collar,ÿ said the man, a lawyer who gave only his first name, Richard. ÿI'm happy to support these guys, and I can take my own garbage out.ÿþþA doorman at the Majestic, at Central Park West and 72nd Street, said his tenants had been compassionate. ÿThey're worried about their security, but they understand that we've got to do what we've got to do,ÿ he said. ÿIt's a real problem: after Sept. 11, everyone wants extra security, but they're not willing to pay for it.ÿþþ
Source: NY Times
