New York, NY – Yesterday, November 30, NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams expressed her support for NYC commercial cleaners’ fight for a fair contract with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations Inc. (RAB). This comes two days after the RAB proposed changes to the collective bargaining agreement that would cut take-home pay and benefits for 20,000 essential workers in the city. The contract expires December 31.
Adams spoke to a crowd of 500 32BJ members yesterday. She said:
“Commercial cleaners are essential workers whose contributions are vital to keeping New York City’s buildings safe, clean, and welcoming,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “As the daughter of union workers, I am proud to stand in solidarity with 32BJ’s commercial cleaners who are fighting for a fair contract. Workers are the backbone of our communities, and their contracts should reflect the value of their labor, and the dignity and respect they deserve.”
On Wednesday, 1,300 32BJ members similarly met to strategize and plan next steps in the campaign for a fair contract for NYC commercial cleaners, including discussion of authorizing a strike.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine also met with a separate group of 500 32BJ members on Wednesday.
Background:
On November 28, the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations Inc. (RAB) formally proposed changes to the union contract impacting 20,000 NYC essential commercial cleaners who have sacrificed their health and livelihoods during the pandemic and been instrumental to the city’s economic recovery. The proposals include:
- Making members pay for their life-saving health insurance (healthcare premium sharing).
- A permanent second tier workforce that would lock in substandard wages and benefits for new hires.
- Unnecessary cuts to labor protections and fairness in the workplace that ignore how the existing contract already allows for reduction in the workforce when vacancies increase, as has been demonstrated over the last three years.
- Cuts to paid sick days and vacation.
- Eliminating overtime wages after 8 hours.
The changes proposed by the RAB would upend essential workers’ lives, making life untenable for thousands of working class families in the city. Single parents could be forced to move out of the city if forced to take on new healthcare expenses; workers would have to choose between their health and paying rent; grandparents could be forced to take on second jobs; workers already forced to work second jobs could face impossible choices.
###
With more than 175,000 members in 12 states, 32BJ SEIU is the largest property service workers union in the country. 32BJ SEIU represents over 80,000 building service workers in NYC, including 20,000 commercial office cleaners. 32BJ SEIU members hail from 64 different countries and speak 28 different languages.