According to a press release from the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, over a dozen residential workers at a luxury condo in Manhattan’s Financial District have gone on strike as of 7a.m. Monday, May 18 to protest what they claim are unfair labor practices at 75 Wall Street. 

According to the striking porters, doormen and concierges, the condo board “has unilaterally changed their paid time off practices and is...not providing adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).” Workers assert that their employer has “repeatedly chang[ed] their paid time off policies, [and] limit[ed] employees’ ability to take time off during the pandemic.” Union reps say that workers are also trying to negotiate an agreement “that would give them the industry standard wages and benefits that the vast majority of residential essential workers in the city receive.”

Workers at the building say that they voted to be represented by SEIU 32BJ three years ago, but that the condo board has yet to reach an agreement with them on wages, health and retirement benefits, and the job protections employees say are especially important for essential workers like them during a pandemic.

The Cooperator is following this story and will update it as more information is available.