The union representing more than 34,000 luxury residential building doormen and porters said it reached a tentative agreement with a prominent landlord group on Friday, averting a strike.
The union, 32BJ SEIU, and the Realty Advisory Board, the consortium representing landlords at some of the city’s toniest condos and co-ops, had been locked in marathon negotiations in a ballroom at the Midtown Hilton Hotel all week.
Details of the agreement were not immediately available. Representatives for both sides are scheduled to brief the press later Friday.
Workers said management was seeking to force workers to begin paying towards their healthcare coverage, which is currently paid for entirely by employers. But the Realty Advisory Board said that it was obligated to cut back on costs given rising costs and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to freeze rent increases on stabilized apartments.
The union nearly went on strike over the same issue in 2022, but reached a deal the day before the scheduled walk out. Residential building workers last went on strike in 1991, in a stoppage that lasted 12 days.
The luxury San Remo co-op on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. More than 550,000 city residents live in building served by unionized doormen and porters. Credit: Jon Bilous/Shutterstock
More than 10,000 workers rallied on Park Avenue on Wednesday ahead of the strike authorization vote, joined by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and others.
Building managers began strike preparations earlier this month, requesting volunteers to take out the trash and warning residents of potential disruptions to delivery services and more. More than 550,000 people live in the buildings that were poised to strike, spanning from rentals to luxury Billionaire’s Row megatowers and iconic co-cops like The Dakota.
This story is developing, check back for updates.
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