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Hoorah! The union representing doormen, porters, and other apartment building workers came to a and building owners' management have struck a tentative deal late last night, keeping the workers on the job today. (When we checked to see what happened at midnight, they announced there was an agreement, but there would be a press conference around 2 or 3AM!) Workers will get raises of 8.5% over four years (but they won't kick in until the second half of the first year), and their health and pensions will remain unchanged (though there is a cap on medical costs during the last 2 years). Also, this contract would be for four, instead of three years, which makes both sides happy (though the union had wanted a five year contract): Union president Mike Fishman said, "We've achieved what we wanted to achieve. We've made compromises, but we think it's a good agreement for all of us," which the Realty Advisory Board's James Berg said, "I think this agreement will serve both the employers and the employees and provide us with four years of stability."
Building residents are pretty happy as well, as they won't have to resort to their contigency plans - the last strike in 1991 left huge piles of garbage everywhere. Well, with one exception: Don Imus was complaining how he looked at NY1 to see if there was a strike, but there was no programming on between 3 and 4AM. Apparently Imus was signed up to operate the freight elevator in his building, which would, quite frankly, scare the dickens out of anyone. The man is licensed to carry a handgun, for chrissakes!
Photograph from minusbaby on Flickr
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great... cant wait for the rent increase notice to come in the mail. i'm really getting sick of these unions in ny.
Yep, Shame on them wanting increased pay! It's not like the cost of living went up!
No, Wait a sec...
You'd think after the whole TWU debacle unions would cool it in New York for the time being. The strike card has been decidely over played.
increased pay is one thing, if its deserved... it should never be accross the board... and i'm sorry but everyone wants increased pay. the problem is these guys make about as much as i do for a non skilled job and this will inevitably come out of my pocket.
Well Glen, the NY Times article says they average $717.60 a week (Not a small sum) but not enough, IMO, to comfortably live inside Manhattan if one has a family.
MT, Other than a strike, what other tool do they have to work with? A work slow down?
I'm just glad they sorted it out.
S.D. do one forces these anyone to dp a job in this country. if you cant afford to live somewhere or raise a family, its your own responsibility to either find another job or move. why should other people have to shoulder your burden? i just had a large rent increase 2 months ago, I know this will flow right though to me again. when it comes to buildings its a zero sum game, if costs go up the residents pay and in this market i'm sure people would be knocking the doors down to take these jobs at 1/2 the pay.
They should do exactly as they did. They should use negotiation as a tool to get what they want. If that doesn't work, they can always use an impartial third party for arbitration. Holding people hostage with the threat of a strike is completely inappropriate when used in the flip manner unions have today. If there were some egregious violation of their rights as workers, i would be the first to help them in their cause and be behind them as they walk out. Unions should just call it what it is today: extortion.
hey S.D. i can barely afford my rent, maybe you want to cut me a check for a couple of hundred every month so i can live more comfortably.
And P.S. S.D., Who says they have to live in Manhattan? There are four other boroughs. Is it a law they have to live in Manhattan if they are a doorman at a Manhattan building? They can take a subway like the rest of us to our jobs. That is if THAT union hasn't shut it down.
"if you cant afford to live somewhere or raise a family, its your own responsibility to either find another job or move."
Glen, Honestly no offense, but that works both ways. I'm sorry your cost will go up especially in light of the Price of Oil (new record this morning!) that you'll get smacked with as well.
Does your building require public accounting? I'm curious as to how much you pay to increase the profit of the building owners. In most buildings, I've read somewhere that the profit margin is pretty small, but I hesitate to believe a private management company that may not have any reason to share that Info.
As for the workers, 2.1 percent increase sure won't cover inflation and IMO is certainly reasonable to the owners. As for the medical, what Percentage do other people pay? 15% of their premiums seem high to me.
i say let the open market set the pay rates for these jobs. if no one wants them at a certain level, the rate will increase. imo the wages are too high for the work involved.
ps. 15% of their premiums was a ngeotiating starting point, the other side wanted 0%. unfortunately, due to fears of a strike, the owners caved. i would not have minded having a strike. it only shows how little these guys actually do. open a door (maybe), accept packages and dry cleaning, hold keys... lol.
For that matter, Who says anyone has to live in Manhattan? Sammy could move too. Way things are going, Normal working class people won't be able to afford it at all.
Rent and cost of real estate is high because of one reason: people are paying it. As soon as someone moves out, someone else moves in often with absolutely no money saved up and in debt up to their eye balls. Not a good state of affairs...
Good points, S.D.
What "right" does anyone have to live anywhere? Not really, but you get the point.
Glen, if you can't afford the inevitable increase, I guess you should move? The thing is, rents have gone up over the past year quite significantly (I work in RE, and have seen the increases) anyway, with or without the doormen pay increase. I've seen what some of these guys have to put up with, and think that their contract is fair.
The cost of living is going up everywhere, so why should they be expected to take a pay freeze in a career that really has no room for promotion anyway? I could never see myself in that kind of occupation, and admire someone who can do this for long periods of time (and isn't that what you people want anyway? loyalty?). I've chatted with many of them, and they often have very interesting lives and pursuits outside of their day jobs. I just think lots of residents don't see them as people.
Speaking of which, did anyone catch the NPR segment yesterday (can't remember which show, but it was early afternoon) on the strike? Do you remember that caller by the name of "Elliot?" Does anyone know if this guy was for real (unfortunately, I think he may have been)? He on about how such "public school nobodies" should be "on their knees" that they are "allowed" to do this for a living. I'm still not sure if he was playing a prank, but if these were actual sentiments, I'd be the first to plant my boot swiftly into his ass. Makes you wonder how many others see their doormen in the same light.
If that is the case, then these pay increases only add to the inflation rate which then increases the cost of living which will go on forever. Fuel costs for buildings are not something that can be controlled. Taxes could if we cut social services which no one wants.
Personel costs, which are the most expensive of all, can be cut and it were not for unions the could be, which would put less pressure on the entire system.
All you whiners, if you don't want your rent to go up, then why don't you move to a non-doorman building? What I do agree with is that I've met a lot of doormen who work damn hard and some that don't do diddly, and they all get a standard raise. The way it should work is that the buildings willing to pay should get the best doormen at the peak times.
Anyway, as for price hikes, I'm glad I inherited an oil well back in Texas. Yee ha suckas!
the news coverage was very funny..."DOORMEN COULD GO ON STRIKE! THE CITY IS ON EDGE!"
dear lord! how will anyone open their own doors?
If a fucking doorman can afford to live in Manhattan then they are WAY OVER PAID!
prodoorman, you're absolutely right. i wanted to smack that guy, and i think the host did too. unfortunately, that sentiment is quite popular. so many privileged people in this city like to believe people are underserving of anything unless they were educated at an expensive or prestigious school. what also bothers me is all the talk about unskilled work. i wonder how many of the people calling doormen "unskilled" actually would have the skills needed to deal with spoiled tenants like themselves.
xnxox... LOL. No one forces them to accept a job that pays a premium rate, medical and retirement benefits for basically sitting around 90% of the time. I'm sure there are thousands of people ready to apply if one should leave. If they don't want to deal with tenants that directly pay for their livelyhood, I'm sure they can find tons of jobs with their skillset. Give me a break.