From left: 1 Lincoln Square (also known as 150 Columbus Avenue) and a pro-union flier workers distributed at the building (Building image courtesy CityRealty)

Building workers at the luxury condominium 1 Lincoln Square are attempting to unionize. But not everyone on the building’s board is supportive of the effort — and the dispute appears to be escalating. Many of the condo’s 18 doormen and other building workers want to join the Service Employees International Union 32BJ. However, the building’s recently reelected board is insisting the workers go through what can be a lengthy and costly arbitration process with the National Labor Relations Board. And in a move that labor leaders say could be illegal, the board sent a warning to a vocally pro-union doorman. [more]

Call him a 'door attendant'

While women in New York City are well-represented in many fields dominated by men just a generation ago, one area is noticeably lacking in estrogen: doormen, or, door attendants, as they might be called. The New York Times reports that of the 12,800 unionized door attendants and porters in the city, only about 300 are women.

“We all say ‘doormen’ for a reason: you really don’t see many women doing it,” Amy Peterson, the president of Nontraditional Employment for Women, a nonprofit organization, told the Times. “But that’s not because employers don’t want to hire women, and it’s not because women aren’t ready.”

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Rentenna.com, a website for locating New York City rental apartments, is sponsoring an unconventional beauty contest, the Wall Street Journal reported — for New York City’s doormen. The start-up began accepting nominations for the city’s most attractive doormen last week, the Journal said, and more than three dozen have been put forward by their tenants so far. [more]

Anthony Razzano, a resident of 698 West End Avenue, has spearheaded an effort in his building to give doormen and elevator operators the right to sit, rest and maybe even drink the occasional cup of coffee on the job, New York magazine reported.

Since landlord Heller Realty issued the decree against eating, drinking or sitting at any time during workers’ eight-hour shift, last month, Razzano has mobilized the residents of his building, at 94th Street, in solidarity with tired staff.

New York magazine speculated that the landlord may be retaliating for the extended contract negotiations with SEIU 32BJ, the doormen and elevator operators’ union, which ended in October…. [more]

Are Hampshire House residents really so forgetful? According to this video from “Saturday Night Live,” found via Curbed, they might be. In this skit called “What’s That Name,” a doorman of the co-op located at 150 Central Park South, played by Kenan Thompson, surprises a game show contestant (played by Paul Rudd) during a series of questions that quizzes respondents (the other whom works at Chatman Real Estate) on obvious — but often overlooked — people in their lives. The doorman challenges the contestant to recall his name, with a $10,000 prize on the line. Unfortunately, even the moniker “Norman the Doorman” is too tricky for him to recall…. [more]

Doormen and other building workers will not strike after their union reached an agreement with building owners just after the midnight deadline early this morning, the union said. The four-year accord, which the union said comes with a nearly 10 percent wage increase and maintains health care benefits, is also good news for brokers who worried that a strike could have derailed open houses or showings for desirable Manhattan listings. Mayor Michael Bloomberg hailed the deal. “Tonight’s agreement is great news for 30,000 service professionals, thousands of the city’s building owners, and hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers that might have been affected by a strike,” he said. The agreement between SEIU and the Realty Advisory Board must be ratified by the union membership and the RAB’s board. Among other components, the union said the deal increases employer contributions to health care by nearly 20 percent — or $182 million — and pensions. TRD… [more]

From left: Richard Grossman, Fred Peters, and Douglas Heddings

At Manhattan’s luxury buildings, doormen don’t just hold the doors — they hold the keys.

Which is why an impending strike, set to begin at midnight, could turn a lot of desirable listings into pumpkins, according to industry insiders. Without doormen, many apartments may be off limits.

So far, ongoing contract negotiations haven’t panned out between the local chapter of the Service Employees International Union, which represents around 30,000 building service workers, and the building owners’ Realty Advisory Board.

This has some in the industry nervous, according to Douglas Heddings, founder of Heddings Property Group, an affiliate of Charles Rutenberg Realty. Heddings said that the threat of a possible strike has emboldened many buyers to get in while they can.

“We have buyers now who are saying ‘I want to get in today,’ because they’re worried about having access tomorrow,” Heddings said. “Some buildings are prohibiting showings during the strike.”… [more]

If the building workers’ union fails to reach a deal on a new contract with management by tomorrow night, the city’s 30,000 doormen, porters, superintendents, elevator operators and handymen are prepared to walk out on the job for the first time in nearly two decades. Residents, co-op boards and building managers, meanwhile, are organizing a plan B. The Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, which represents building owners, has issued a 45-page manual with recommendations on keeping buildings in operation without their staff. Security guards are slated to arrive at buildings one hour before the deadline, 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, in order to take over the overnight shift in the case of a strike. In some buildings, residents have been asked to volunteer to watch the front doors, clean the hallways and take out the garbage. In others, service elevators, storage rooms and garages would be taken out of operation.
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Seven thousand disgruntled New York City doormen and apartment building workers hit the streets last night, as the threat of a full-fledged strike loomed large, according to NY1. The workers’ union has given the Realty Advisory Board less than a week to agree to its terms (see an embedded audio story from WNYC above). The kerfuffle erupted between the two groups after the Realty Advisory Board made proposed contract changes including reduced vacation days and a mandate requiring them to pay for part of their insurance premiums. Yesterday’s march hit the Upper East Side, with workers striding down Park Avenue. [NY1] and

As many as 30,000 doormen, superintendents and porters in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island could be leaving their posts by the end of the month, according to Crain’s, as the workers’ union vote on whether they’ll strike over contract disputes. The latter three boroughs voted this week to strike if an amenable contract agreement hasn’t been reached by April 21. The Manhattan workers are expected to vote tonight. The possible strike comes after the union rejected the Realty Advisory Board’s proposed contract in March. Should the strike go through, approximately 3,200 buildings could see their staffers walk.