Landlords, Doormen Reach Eleventh-Hour Deal To Avoid Citywide Strike

A looming strike of more than 30,000 workers and doormen who staff some 3,000 New York City luxury buildings looks to have been narrowly avoided.

The Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations and 32BJ SEIU, the labor union representing luxury building employees, reached a deal Tuesday afternoon for a new contract after their previous deal was set to expire Wednesday.

Despite negotiating since March, the two parties disagreed over benefits currently offered to employees, leading the 32BJ to authorize the first strike in 30 years last week, which would have gone ahead if an agreement hadn’t been reached before midnight Tuesday.

Both the union and the RAB's members must now sign off on the tentative agreement to avoid a strike, but if both parties ratify the agreement, the new contract would be in effect until April 2026.

Under the new agreement, union employees would receive a 3% raise, bringing a typical yearly salary up to roughly $62K, according to a joint release from RAB and 32BJ. Building staff would continue to receive full family health insurance, including dental, optical and prescription drug coverage, without having to pay a monthly health insurance premium. The deal also includes a one-time, $3K bonus to be paid on ratification.

The probationary period for new hires would be longer than under previous agreements, and the two parties also reached a deal to smooth grievance and arbitration processes.

The RAB originally wanted union workers to start paying monthly healthcare premiums in addition to accepting cuts to paid time off. 32BJ argued during negotiations that accepting the responsibility for paying a monthly healthcare premium amounts to a pay cut for employees, many of whom it said live paycheck to paycheck. The median income for NYC from 2016 to 2020 was $67K, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The RAB also argued that 32BJ SEIU’s ask for a pay raise in line with inflation wasn't reasonable, saying increases to employees’ wages and benefits have outpaced inflation over the last decade, but eventually acceded to the pay and benefits demands of the union.

“The industry is proud to have reached a fair agreement that will continue to create and support middle class jobs for more than 30,000 workers over the next four years,” RAB President Howard Rothschild said in a statement. “The agreement builds on the important work RAB and 32BJ accomplished together throughout the pandemic — protecting jobs and maintaining solid health benefits — and further shows the industry’s respect and appreciation for our essential workers with a substantial bonus.”

Landlords have been preparing for a potential strike since late March, indicating they expected significant disruption to resident services if building staff ended up striking. Building manager AKAM emailed residents in an Upper East Side co-op asking them to reschedule move-ins or move-outs, apartment renovations and deliveries where possible in the case of a strike, The City reported.

While the agreement clears a major hurdle for the two sides, there are still myriad issues plaguing the city's housing market. 

The RAB says that two years into the pandemic — even as rents increase across the city — building owners are in financial pain. New York City landlords, including but not limited to luxury building owners, lost $2B in unpaid rent during the pandemic. Many buildings also lost tenants and had to slash rental prices to attract new tenants, eating into building revenue. Policies designed to protect vulnerable tenants from being evicted during the pandemic also changed the landlord-tenant dynamic, making it harder for landlords to increase rent or claim payment from nonpaying tenants. 

Luxury building owners have had an additional burden in the form of increasing maintenance costs. Landlords have needed to pay for cleaning costs, paying for personal protective equipment for building workers and overtime costs. Healthcare costs have also gone up, the RAB claims: In addition to a $55K salary, landlords also pay an average of $24K per year for building workers’ healthcare.

During negotiations, 32BJ said that like landlords, building workers were also feeling the pinch as inflation pushes up everyday costs.

“Rent has gone up, utilities have gone up, school fees have gone up, and little things like groceries have gone up, so little things like even trying to get to work is an issue,” said Crystalann Johnson, a concierge at Silver Towers in Hell's Kitchen and a member of the union bargaining committee. “A lot of people depend on that paycheck every week. It's not for luxury, it's for survival.”