Understanding New York City’s 32BJ Union Contract: Insights and Updates

An Overview of 32BJ Union in New York City

The 32BJ union, headquartered in New York City, represents building services workers in the City, including janitors, doormen, porters and superintendents. It is the local chapter of the larger Service Employees International Union ("SEIU"), which has both a national and international membership. The SEIU was founded in 1921, and its local chapters encompass hundreds of thousands of workers in the healthcare, public service, and building services sectors.
Today, the 32BJ represents approximately 70,000 workers in the New York City metro area. Its contract with the Realty Advisory Board, which is a collective bargaining representative for over 1,800 property owners and managers in the City, and the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, the umbrella organization for five building trade unions, governs the terms and conditions of employment for approximately 23,000 of the City’s doormen, concierges and porters . Among these 23,000 workers are the 196 members at 100 East 53rd Street.
As local 32bj’s IBT Local #32 is the largest privately sponsored union health fund in the country, the 32bj’s health fund has become an important negotiation goal for developers. The health plan covers health care benefits for more than 82,000 employees and their families. The health fund is known for its high premiums and benefits. The fund is self-insured and generates revenue through its agreements with local hospitals, which charge the fund for medical services rendered to its members. 32BJ members also belong to a pension fund, a non-contributory, defined benefit pension.

Essentials of the 32BJ Union Contract

In the 32BJ union contract, members are afforded a number of protections to ensure their salary, health insurance and workers’ compensation needs are met. A typical 32BJ contract spans six years and covers a variety of industries including security officers, doormen, porters and handypersons and coordinators and superintendents.
One of the largest bargaining groups for the 32BJ contract is the Residential Agreement, which oversees more than 80,000 unionized residential property workers who conduct a wide range of services across building types in the New York City metropolitan area. This agreement primarily focuses on the New York City area, but it extends across five states in total.
Wages
According to the 32BJ union contract wage charts, doormen in a Class B or lower building in Manhattan earn an hourly wage of $29.19 in 2016, while that wage increases to $30.27 for 2017 and 2018. The same doormen in a Class C building earn $23.74 in 2016 and are set to earn $24.51 in 2017 and $25.51 in 2018.
Porters at a Class C union property in the 32BJ bargaining group earn a current hourly wage of $23.74, which increases to $24.51 this year and $25.51 next year.
The wage figures for handypersons in 32BJ properties in the New York City area vary by assignment and position, but currently range from $18.68 for general duty staff to $28.36 for exclusive doormen, beginning Jan. 20, 2016.
Health insurance
All members of the 32BJ New York City area health care plan are required to pay either $90 per week or $75 per week for one dependent — with future premiums set to increase in 2018 to $100 and $85, respectively — while employee + family coverage currently costs $165 per week. In 2018, these rates will jump to $175 and $170.
The agreement provides comprehensive and affordable health insurance to full-time employees. These packages include coverage for dependents bottoming out at $234 a week, which increases to $248 per week in 2018, as well as mental health, long-term disability, speech therapy and prescription drug coverage.
Working conditions and job security
Workers covered under the 32BJ union contract have the right to an established grievance procedure. If violations of the terms of the contract occur, employees can file complaints through either their designated union representative or through an outside union rep. Certain no-fault contracts also contain provisions for the elimination of grievances over issues such as rules violations, excessive tardiness or time keeping.
32BJ employees are also entitled to a number of other workplace protections, including the right to:
Training
Members of the 32BJ bargaining group have a right to receive training to help them improve their performance and work to industry standards. Employees are encouraged to ask employers to fund training, so long as it is approved by the training fund board.

Latest Developments in the 32BJ Contract

In November of 2019, members of the 32BJ SEIU approved a new three-year contract with the Real Estate Board of New York and the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. The new contract reached the highest wages for the union in the organization’s history. The dollar values agreed to for the New York City office workers were the highest in the city in any one year. The agreement set hourly wages for building staff at $31.55 – $43.65 an hour and $45.82 an hour for superintendents.
Commercial office building workers in the Bronx, Staten Island, the suburbs of New York, and even Long Island were also part of this deal. The 32BJ officials said the increases in their health benefits would now equal at least $1.06 an hour or more of the wages.
The money to be paid to security officers and building engineers is still being finalized. Mr. Scalera, president of Local 1 of the 32BJ, asked security staff members to remain firm in the months ahead as they craft their outcome. The next 32BJ contract will apply to about 1,700 security officers working in some of the city’s biggest businesses.
The other contract for commercial office building workers also does not have the dollar amounts agreed upon. Thirty-three commercial office building employers in the Devil’s Arrow, including Church Street Station, the Empire State Building, and the World Trade Center, were part of this contract. In 2020, it will go into effect. It will increase hourly wages from 3.50 to 6.75 percent. Many of the same benefits, such as health, what triggered no changes, and the same matters to be agreed upon at the end of the agreement.

The Significance of the 32BJ Contract for NYC Workers

For 32BJ members, the union contract is key to their personal and professional lives. The ability to earn a healthy wage with negotiated reliable working hours goes hand in hand with other workplace protections such as health and pension funds. These funds help ensure access to affordable healthcare and the ability to pay for retired members’ support and care. The proactive power of these collective bargaining agreements enables members do their best work and not be burdened with unmanageable costs of living, daily commute and associated mental and physical stress.
The most recent 32BJ contract controls a five-year period from 2016 to 2021, and it covers the majority of roughly 35,000 unionized commercial janitors in the New York area. As part of this agreement, employees and employers commonly split health insurance premiums , which gives members access to quality care and supports healthy workers and families. Again, this is within the context of the context of a larger and very high cost region.
In NYC, the 32BJ collective bargaining applies to more than 80,000 people. Members of the building service division are principal staff in commercial and residential buildings throughout the five boroughs. Members of the facilities and security divisions work at various airports and schools, hospitals and security sites around the area. Such workers come together within the same union and benefit from what that organization can offer, particularly in terms of wages and benefits. 32BJ utilizes negotiations to create and maintain contracts that speak to its members’ interests and provide the support they need to do their jobs.

Implications of 32BJ Negotiations on Other Unions

The outcome of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) contract negotiations with 32BJ could have a ripple effect on other unions that are negotiating new contracts in the services industry. These unions are watching closely to see what 32BJ will agree to, both in terms of its union members and the agreements it made on behalf of its non-union cleaning contractors. Organizations like UFCW and Unite Here will be reacting to what they perceive to be the positive or negative outcomes of these negotiations, which could influence how similar negotiations are going to play out in the coming years.
Because of the nature of the contracts being signed, 32BJ is becoming the standard bearer for service industry unions in New York. Health care is shaping up to be a critical issue, especially as it affects low-wage service workers. Many unions are trying to fight against plans to transition people into managed care plans, which are often year-to-year contracts with corporate health care providers. Unions like 1199, UFCW and others have been looking to secure union-run plans, which are more stable and provide consistently high quality of service to union members.
Black car drivers are also forming a new union with SEIU, which will be affected by the outcome of the negotiations between SEIU and 32BJ. SEIU has been trying to negotiate progressive contracts on behalf of the drivers. That contract could be affected by the progress SEIU makes in the negotiations with 32BJ.
MEBA has a contract with 32BJ and has stood on the sidelines of this negotiation, but has a vested interest in the outcome. MEBA may push for more money or benefits for its membership if 32BJ gets a good raise in this environment. It may be less influential than the other unions, but it is still important.
UFCW has previously negotiated one contract with 32BJ and will also be affected by the outcome, as they have similar membership.
Unite Here has recently had a contract with 32BJ and will be affected by it as well. Similar to MEBA, it may push for more as a result of any negotiated benefits.
Hospitality, which is not covered by 32BJ directly, has a stake in these negotiations. They are classified as a "service industry" union, so there is overlap in terms of who does similar work and who provides similar services to hospitality venues. While they do not have a stake in 32BJ making a big impact, they will be impacted because they are in the same industry and have similarities between the scope of their work and who employs 32BJ members.

Looking Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities for 32BJ

The future presents both challenges and opportunities for the 32BJ union and the working people with whom they partner. With the slow but sure increase in minimum wage rates in New York, the fight for living wages is made just a little easier.
The Trump Administration is likely to make upward pressure on wages more difficult to control—particularly if the President continues to call for cuts to the Federal Minimum Wage. Nonetheless, due to population growth resulting in diminished resources and government tax revenues, the pressure on lawmakers to build a stronger safety net for the working poor will continue to rise.
New York’s rather bold independent contractor law, signing its birth certificate into law on July 10, 2019 (NYC Admin. Code § 8-107(1)(a)), may also help the 32BJ union and its allies in they quest for a living wage for all. This ordinance classifies numerous "gig economy" workers as employees as opposed to independent contractors. If upheld , and unlikely not to be challenged, the law might result in a massive flow of workers into the 32BJ union. However, the nature of the work performed by many of these "gig economy" workers, combined with the visceral reaction of these workers when approached by union organizers, specifically those known or thought to be affiliated with the Teamsters, poses some challenges for the 32BJ union.
A host of experts from many disciplines assert, however, that organized labor in the United States is at a tipping point. With new laws, such as the one previously discussed, with increasing pressure from a small group of power brokers such as the Teamsters, and a seemingly growing appetite on the part of workers to organize in order to compel the payment of a fair wage; the future may very well be one where both organized labor and unorganized workers form a well-matched team working together both politically and economically to achieve fairer wages.