Doormen Demand New Contract in Large Rally
WNYC News | Jul 12, 2010
New York, NY —
Scores of doormen, building superintendents and porters are rallying near Fifth Avenue and 79th Street, demanding a new contract. Their union, Local 32B-J, has set a strike deadline for 12:01 AM Friday morning for its 28,000 members.
At the bargaining table, building owners say they're being squeezed by rising health and heating costs, and they've asked for a wage freeze for the first year of a new, three-year contract. They're also asking workers to start paying 15 percent of their health insurance costs, and to switch from a traditional pension to a 401(K) plan.
But the union has rejected those proposals, saying building owners should have no problem making ends meet because of soaring real estate prices.
