NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York apartment workers reached a last-minute deal on a new labor contract on Wednesday and called off a threatened strike that would have crippled services for a million apartment dwellers, a union spokesman said.þþA strike by the 28,000 unionized workers -- including doormen, handymen, janitors, superintendents, elevator operators, porters -- was set to start with the morning shift, around 7 a.m.þþBut John Hamill, a spokesman for Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, said labor representatives and employers had worked into early Wednesday morning to seal a new three-year labor pact, comprising, among other things, average weekly pay increases of $18 to $19.þþ``We have reached an agreement. There will be no strike,'' Hamill told Reuters. He said the pay increases will be effective immediately and that the new deal also contains improved health benefits for the workers.þþThe previous labor contract expired at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday. Before the new contract was agreed upon, building owners had offered a pay raise of $10 a week for each of the three years and contended that their annual package amounted to a better offer, as it also included improved pension and health benefits.þþA spokesman for a group representing the building owners was not immediately available for comment early on Wednesday.þþSome 3,000 luxury apartments, whose residents are accustomed to having someone hail their cabs, haul their trash and open doors -- stood to take a hit if the strike went ahead.þþThe action will have come as residents grappled with widespread municipal service cuts and higher transportation costs amid the city's gaping budget gap, partly from the fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks. The starting salary for union members, who also get tips, is $27,000.þþBut the union puts the average salary at $32,000, while building owners say it its $34,000. Doormen last walked picket lines in a 12-day work stoppage in 1991. þþ
Source: NY Times
