After a day of striking, six Diamond District residential workers started to see results.
A group of unionized five cleaners and a unionized fire safety director went on strike on July 10 in front of a Diamond District commercial building where the wages and benefits in their contract were suddenly slashed after a new contractor took over the janitorial services.
Before the strike their employer had refused to bargain with them. After an afternoon of picketing, their union organizer announced that their new employer’s lawyer had reached out to the union — the potential first step in negotiations.
“We’re here because we want to bargain for the contract. We want back everything that the contract has — we just want it back. Our fair share,” said the building’s fire safety director Carlos Tejeda.
Prior to the strike at the beginning of June, the new owner of the office building where the cleaning staff work brought in a new cleaning company, which suddenly and unilaterally cut their wages almost in half to $16 per hour and canceled their benefits.
In response, the residential workers — some of whom have worked at the 529 5th Avenue office building for decades — went out on strike to protest their new employer L&J Janitorial’s refusal to bargain with their union, 32BJ SEIU. The union filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) challenging the employer’s delays at the bargaining table.
“We are striking because they refuse to bargain. We’re striking because they’re refusing to even provide information, respect the process, but ultimately what’s the outcome of that? The outcome of that is people’s lives and their family’s lives are at stake,” said 32BJ SEIU President Manny Pastreich before the announcement that the company had reached out to the union.
As the worker picket continued, one 32BJ organizer announced that the workers’ decision to strike had already started to take effect. The organizer said that the L&J Janitorial’s lawyer had finally contacted the union — the first step in the process of negotiations.
The union agreed to temporarily suspend the strike and send the workers back to work on Friday, but it’s still possible that the strike will continue if L&J Janitorial delays negotiations or does not bargain in good faith with the union.
The root of the problem goes back to the change in ownership of the building. After a new building owner Fifth City Realty LLC, an affiliate of Empire Capital, took over the building last year, the real estate company brought in L&J Janitorial, the contractor that cut the workers wages.
The union’s direct dispute is with the contractor, L&J Janitorial, but Pastreich said that the building owner should feel some responsibility as well.
“They have a level of responsibility and we have to hold them responsible as well. So should they expect a call from politicians? They should,” he said.
L&J Janitorial declined to comment. Empire Capital did not respond by deadline.
