Concrete workers that abandoned some construction sites in the wake of their expired labor contract were ordered to return to their jobs Tuesday night. Crain’s reported that an arbitrator ruled that concrete laborers at West 57th Street, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Tower 2 of the World Trade Center were in violation of a no-strike provision in labor agreements at those sites.

The Cement and Concrete Workers District Council plans to appeal the ruling, Crain’s said, as it will argue that the no-strike agreement is not applicable since the contract expired in June. But by Wednesday workers at all four sites were back on the job. A similar hearing is scheduled today for walkouts at the new Weill Cornell Medical College on East 69th Street. [more]

Hundreds of unionized cement and concrete workers have walked off the job at the World Trade Center site in response to the cement league trying to cut their pay by up to 20 percent, NY1 reported.

The walk-out may spell a strike, since the concrete workers have been working without a contract since July 1, but the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey says it will have no effect on the Sept. 11 memorial construction schedule.

“It’s a horrible situation, you know? We built this city and they want to take money away from us, in this bad economy,” said John Hardt, a member of the Cement and Concrete Workers Union. [more]

Thousands of Bronx building workers opted not to walk off the job last night after their union reached a tentative contract with the group representing the landlords of some 1,000 apartment buildings in the borough to raise wages and maintain healthcare benefits for their families. The workers were threatening to strike at 12:01 a.m. today after the landlords had attempted to cut their benefits. A strike would have affected an estimated 250,000 Bronx residents. TRD [more]

Hundreds of apartment building workers rallied in the Bronx yesterday as next week’s deadline for a new union contract looms. Some 3,000 superintendents, janitors, doormen, garbage handlers and other workers in more than 1,000 Bronx apartment buildings are threatening to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. March 15 unless their union, 32BJ, is able to come to terms with the group representing their employers, the Bronx Realty Advisory Board. Negotiations have been ongoing since last month, but the union says its retirement and health care demands are still unresolved, as the landlords have proposed cuts to their benefits packages. TRD [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