Long Island custodial workers authorize strike

Ten thousand custodial workers across the tristate area are ready to strike — including 700 on Long Island, many of whom live in the Uniondale, Hempstead, Roosevelt and Freeport areas.

The 32BJ Service Employees International Union, one of the largest and most influential labor unions on the East Coast, whose members services buildings including Roosevelt Field Mall, Nassau Community College, the Nassau Coliseum and a slew of other commercial properties in Nassau and Suffolk counties — voted last weekend to approve a work strike if a new contract is not agreed to by Dec. 31.

SEIU is negotiating with a coalition of roughly 85 cleaning contractors, and is asking for an increase in wages, the expansion of pensions, and an end to the use of non-union workers. Lenore Friedlaender, who represents the union, did not disclose the exact wage demands of the workers or the contractors’ counteroffer, but said the bottom line is that they are “far apart.”

“The money that they’re offering is an insult to us,” Jose Portillo, a union member and a member of its negotiating team, said.

“If you remember, we were called essential workers during the pandemic,” added Portillo’s union colleague, Arnelge Escobar. “We were out there every day, making sure that everything was disinfected. All of the doors, floors, bathrooms, every hallway, and everything else.”

Portillo and Escobar were just two of the nearly 100 workers who attended last Saturday’s vote at the RXR Plaza in Uniondale, where they unanimously approved a strike — with not even a single vote in opposition. “We’re fighting for this contract because every day, it becomes harder to pay the lights, to pay the water, to bring food to the table for our families,” Portillo said. “Sometimes we (get) behind on bills because we don’t have enough to be able to pay for food. We deserve a good contract.”

Nick Grello, the lawyer representing the cleaning contractors in the negotiations, had not responded to the Herald’s requests for comment by press time.

Antonio Rosario and other members of Teamsters Local 804 Union, which represents area UPS drivers, expressed their support for the custodial workers, letting the SEIU know that the Teamsters would not cross any picket line at the buildings in which the custodial staffs are striking, or deliver any packages there that were shipped via UPS.

“What we’re hearing today is very similar to what we heard at UPS a year ago,” Rosario said. “They’re making all of the money, and they don’t want to share with the workers, who are responsible for their profits.”

Rosario said he had seen firsthand what happens when workers stand together and demand their fair share, and added that he was glad the vote went the way it did. He explained that this year, Teamsters 804 got the contract it wanted without having to go on strike, thanks to the strength and solidarity workers displayed during the negotiations. UPS ultimately agreed to give them guaranteed raises over five years, improved health care coverage, expanded pensions, and raises and additional benefits for part-time workers, among other concessions.

“I know there are a lot of people who are scared of going on strike,” Rosario concluded, “but we have to overcome that fear, because if we don’t, they will continue making those profits and lining the CEOs’ pockets, lining the shareholders’ pockets, and we will continue to get the short end of the stick.”

Assemblywoman Taylor Darling and County Legislator Siela Bynoe were among those who expressed their support for the custodial workers, joining the gathering for the strike vote in an RXR meeting room.

“I know how hard you guys work, and I know that people look at our communities, and people who live here, and they find ways to exploit us and use us for their own gain,” Darling said. “They forget how hard you all worked, risking your lives and your families’ lives in the pandemic, but I’m here to remind them and will fight with you every step of the way. I’m here to stand with you until we get the contract that you deserve.”

Bynoe told the workers that she related to their struggle, recalling on her father, an immigrant who had to work two jobs to support his family on Long Island. “These companies must be held to a higher standard, and we must hold them accountable to ensure a bright and equitable future where you get your fair share.”