By Mariel S. Clark and Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Thousands of doormen, supers and apartment workers have voted to authorize a strike if contract negotiations fall through, according to a statement from their union.
Manhattan members of 32BJ voted to authorize the strike Thursday, night meaning up to 30,000 building services workers could walk off the job if a new contract with the Realty Advisory Board is not reached by 12:01 a.m. on April 21, the statement said. Members in Queens and Brooklyn approved the strike earlier in the week.
“Our City’s economic downturn is no excuse to deprive hard-working people and their families of a fair wage or essential benefits,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, in the statement. “More than 30,000 service workers keep our buildings clean, our tenants safe and our city running.”
The union represents doormen, superintendents, resident managers, porters, handymen and concierges at more than 3,200 apartment buildings across the city, according to the statement.
32BJ has been negotiating issues including cost of living wage increases, family health care and training and retirement funds, the statement said. The workers make an average of $40,000 a year, according to the union.
“We work hard every day so that we can pay the bills, give our kids an education, and maybe even buy a house,” Upper East Side doorman Deon Fenton said in the statement. “Isn’t that the American Dream?”
One high-rise apartment building in Midtown West sent a memo to tenants detailing the changes that would occur if the strike goes through.
"Lobby attendants will be furnished with a resident list and you will be expected to identify yourself as you enter the building," the memo stated.
"To facilitate resident identification, pass cards will be issued prior to the strike to authorized apartment residents," the memo added, warning residents to remember to carry the cards at all times, as the the fill-in lobby attendant would not recognize them by sight.
Other measures would force residents to take on responsibilities they would not typically handle, including garbage disposal and maintaining the cleanliness of the lobby, hallways and laundry rooms.
Regardless, building owners and the Realty Advisory Board appeared unfazed by the threatened strike.
"It is routine and largely symbolic," RAB President Howard Rothschild told WABC. "It doesn't mean there will or won't be a strike, but building owners and managers are prepared for a strike, if one is called."
