2020
Commercial Building
AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
LOCAL 32BJ
SERVICE EMPLOYEES
INTERNATIONAL UNION
AND
REALTY ADVISORY BOARD ON LABOR RELATIONS, INC.
EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2020
TO DECEMBER 31, 2023
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARTICLE PAGE
I. Union Recognition and Union Security……..1
II. Coverage of Agreement / Sub-Contracting .11
III. Wages, Hours & Working Conditions……..14
IV. Management Rights ………………………………16
V. Reduction in Force………………………………..18
VI. Reason for Discharge…………………………….24
VII. Grievance Procedure……………………………..25
VIII. Arbitration……………………………………………27
IX. No Strikes or Lockouts ………………………….32
X. Multi-Employer Bargaining……………………35
XI. Health, Pension, Training, Legal
and Supplemental Retirement and
Savings Funds ………………………………………40
XII. Disability Benefits Law and
Unemployment Insurance ………………………55
XIII. Sickness Benefits ………………………………….56
XIV. Building Acquisition by Public Authority…59
XV. Sale or Transfer of Building …………………..59
XVI. Building Classifications…………………………61
XVII. Wages and Hours ………………………………….62
XVIII. Superintendents…………………………………….71
XIX. Joint Industry Advancement Project………..75
XX. Terms of Agreement and Renewals…………79
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ARTICLE PAGE
XXI. General Clauses ……………………………………81
1. Differentials ………………………………….81
2. Pyramiding……………………………………82
3. Holidays ……………………………………….82
4. Voting Time………………………………….87
5. Personal Day …………………………………87
6. Schedules ……………………………………..88
7. Relief Employees…………………………..88
8. Method of Payment of Wages………….88
9. Seniority and Layoff ………………………90
10. Replacement, Promotions,
Vacancies, Trial Periods, and
Newly Hired Employees…………………91
11. Recall …………………………………………..95
12. Leave of Absence and
Pregnancy Leave……………………………97
13. Vacations and Vacation Relief
Employees…………………………………..100
14. Day of Rest …………………………………104
15. Uniforms and Other Apparel …………104
16. First Aid Kit ………………………………..105
17. Fire and Flood Call ………………………105
18. Eye Glasses and Union Insignia …….105
19. Bulletin Board……………………………..105
20. Sanitary Arrangements………………….106
21. Termination Pay…………………………..106
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ARTICLE PAGE
22. Tools, Permits, Fines and Legal
Assistance ………………………………….109
23. Military Service …………………………..109
24. No Discrimination / Protocol…………110
25. Placement / Employment
Agency Fee …………………………………120
26. Employees’ Rooms ………………………121
27. Definitions…………………………………..121
28. Required Training Programs………….123
29. Building Safety and Security …………123
30. Garnishments ………………………………123
31. Death in Family……………………………124
32. Union Visitation…………………………..124
33. Jury Duty…………………………………….124
34. Identification……………………………….125
35. Service Center Visit ……………………..126
36. Automation Employment Pool ………127
37. Death of Employee ………………………128
38. Government Decrees…………………….128
39. Weather Conditions ……………………..129
40. Common Disaster…………………………129
41. Transportation Costs …………………….130
42. Cuspidors ……………………………………130
43. Security Background Checks…………130
44. Work Authorization and Status
Disputes………………………………………131
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ARTICLE PAGE
45. Veteran Assistance Program………….132
46. Saving Clause………………………………132
47. Complete Agreement ……………………133
48. Notices ……………………………………….133
49. Wage and Hour Claims…………………133
XXII. New Development ………………………………136
Side Letters …………………………………………………..138
Minimum Wage Rates ……………………………………155
Index ……………………………………………………………163
1
The REALTY ADVISORY BOARD ON
LABOR RELATIONS, INCORPORATED (RAB),
an incorporated multi-employer association, duly
authorized and empowered to enter into this agreement
for its members which appear on the list furnished
to SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL
UNION, LOCAL 32BJ (Union), and the Union,
acting on behalf of its members and other building
service employees to whom this Agreement applies
and for whom it is the collective bargaining agency,
do hereby agree as of this 1st day of January 2020,
as follows:
ARTICLE I
Union Recognition and Union Security
1. The Union is recognized as the exclusive
collective bargaining representative of all
classifications of service employees at each building
which is committed to this Agreement within the
geographical jurisdiction of the Union and the RAB.
This Agreement shall apply to all classifications
of service employees employed by the Employer.
Article II of this Agreement shall also apply to
employees of cleaning and maintenance contractors
who employ employees in any building committed to
this Agreement working in any job category covered
by this Agreement.
2
This Agreement shall include a classification
for building Superintendent in buildings where
the Superintendent has been covered by the RAB
Commercial Building Agreement and those covered
under the former Local 164/RAB Agreement.
Work performed pursuant to the terms of
this collective bargaining agreement shall not be
performed by persons not covered by the bargaining
agreement except as provided in Article II.
2. There shall be a Union Shop throughout the
term of this Agreement in every building where
there was a Union Shop under the 2016 Commercial
Building Agreement and in other buildings whenever
it is agreed or determined that a majority of the
employees in such buildings are members of or have
applied for membership in the Union.
The “Union Shop” requires membership in
the Union by every employee in the building as a
condition of employment after the thirtieth (30th) day
following employment or the execution date of this
Agreement, whichever is later, or in the case of newly
organized buildings, after the thirtieth (30th) day
following agreement or determination that a majority
of the employees in such buildings are members of
or have applied for membership in the Union, and
requires that the Union shall not ask or require the
3
Employer to discharge or otherwise discriminate
against any employee except in compliance with
law. The requirement of membership under this
section or elsewhere in this Agreement is satisfied by
the payment of financial obligations of the Union’s
initiation fees and periodic dues uniformly imposed.
In the event the Union security provision of
this Agreement is held to be invalid, unenforceable
or of no legal effect generally or with respect to
any building because of interpretation or a change
of federal or state statute, city ordinance or rule or
decision of any government administrative body,
agency or subdivision, the permissible Union security
clause under such statute, decision or regulation shall
be enforceable as a substitute for the Union security
clause provided for herein.
3. Whenever the Union files with the RAB
and the Employer a claim that a majority of the
employees in a building are members of or have made
application for membership in the Union, the Union
Shop requirement shall be made effective within
fifteen (15) days thereafter, unless the Employer or
the RAB, within ten (10) days, notifies the Union that
it requires a determination of that claim.
4. Upon receipt by the Employer of a letter
from the Union’s Secretary-Treasurer requesting any
4
employee’s discharge because such employee has
not met the requirements of this Article, unless the
Employer questions the propriety of so doing, such
employee shall be discharged within fifteen (15) days
of said notice if prior thereto such employee does not
take proper steps to meet said requirements. If the
Employer questions the propriety of the discharge,
it shall immediately submit the matter to grievance,
and if not thus settled, to the Arbitrator for final
determination. If it is finally settled or determined
that the employee has not met the said requirements,
the employee shall be discharged within ten (10) days
after written notice of the final determination has been
given to the RAB and the Employer.
The Employer shall be responsible for unpaid dues
after receipt of notice provided for in this section and
exhaustion of contractual remedies. The Employer’s
obligation shall begin fifteen (15) days after such
notice or, if the Employer questions the discharge,
after the final determination of the arbitrator.
5. The Union will hold the Employer harmless
from any liability arising from a discharge asked
by the Union pursuant to this Article provided the
Employer has done nothing to cause or increase its
own liability concerning removal of employees.
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6. During any period in which it is not established
that a majority of the employees in a building are
members of, or have made application for membership
in the Union, it is agreed that all employees who,
upon the date this Agreement is signed for their
building, are members of the Union in good standing
in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws of
the Union, and all employees who thereafter become
members shall, as a condition of employment, remain
Union members in good standing during the life of
the Agreement.
7. Upon execution of this Agreement, each
Employer shall furnish the Union and the RAB with a
complete list of the names, Social Security numbers,
home addresses and job locations of all employees
covered by this Agreement and shall notify the
Union and the RAB of the names, Social Security
numbers, home addresses and job location of each
new employee thereafter employed.
The Employer shall notify the Union and the
RAB in writing, as soon as a cancellation of an
account becomes effective where Union members are
employed and the Employer shall notify the Union
when it acquires a new building service job.
8. The Union shall have the right to inspect
the Employer’s Social Security reports and all
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payroll records (except the salary of the nonunion
Supervisors) in order to determine if this Agreement
is being complied with. The Union shall have
the right to expedited arbitration in the event an
Employer fails to comply with this right of inspection.
Inspections may also be made by the Union or the
Arbitrator at the request of the RAB. The RAB may
join the Union at all times, when such examination
is made. All Benefit Trust Funds established under
this Agreement shall have the same right to inspect
as the Union but shall also have the right to inspect
Supervisors’ payroll records where Supervisors are
covered by such Funds.
9. Each Employer agrees to deduct the Union’s
monthly dues, initiation fees, and all legal assessments
from the pay of each employee from whom it receives
written authorization and will continue to make such
deductions while the authorization remains in effect.
The Employer hereby agrees to deduct voluntary
political contributions based upon authorizations
signed by the employees in accordance with
applicable law.
The parties acknowledge and agree that the term
“written authorization” as provided in this Agreement
includes authorizations or revocations created and
maintained by use of electronic records and electronic
signatures consistent with state and federal law. The
7
Union, therefore, may use electronic records to verify
Union membership, authorization for voluntary
deduction of Union dues and fees, as well as voluntary
contributions to the Union’s American Dream Fund,
from wages or payments for remittance to the Union,
and authorization for voluntary deductions from
wages or payments for remittance to the American
Dream Fund. The Employer shall accept such
electronic records from the Union as valid written
authorizations for, or revocations of, deduction and
remittance.
Employers who are currently accepting such
electronic records as valid written authorizations
or revocations for deduction and remittance shall
continue to do so. The parties recognize that Employers
who are not currently accepting electronic records as
valid written authorizations or revocations may need
time and/or training to be able to do so. The Union
shall provide any necessary training opportunity to
the Employer to facilitate acceptance of electronic
records as valid written authorizations or revocations
for deduction and remittance. Those Employers who
are not currently accepting electronic records as valid
written authorizations or revocations shall commence
acceptance no later than nine (9) months from the
date an Employer first becomes signatory to this
Agreement (the “Transition Period”), provided that
any reasonably requested training has been provided
8
by the Union. It is understood that the transition to
electronic records and electronic signatures may cause
some delays. During the Transition Period, Employers
who deduct appropriately, but whose transmissions
are delayed, shall not be subject to interest or penalties
owing to such delays.
Such deductions will be made from the pay for
the first full pay period worked by each employee
following the receipt of the authorization, and
thereafter will be made the first payday each month,
and forwarded to the Union not later than the twentieth
day in each and every current month. Such deductions
shall constitute trust funds while in the possession of
the Employer.
If the Employer fails to remit to the Union the
dues or other monies deducted in accordance with this
section by the twentieth day, the Employer shall pay
interest on such dues or other monies at the rate of
one percent per month beginning on the twenty-first
day, unless the Employer can demonstrate the delay
was for good cause due to circumstances beyond
its control. The interest shall not be assessed for an
Employer’s initial failure to deduct voluntary political
contributions until thirty (30) days after the Employer
has received written notice from the Union of its
failure to deduct.
9
The Employer shall provide employee
information in connection with the transmission of
dues, initiation fees, all legal assessments and other
deductions required to be transmitted to the Union
(collectively, “Deductions”). Deductions from
employees’ paychecks shall be transmitted to the
Union electronically via ACH or wire transfer utilizing
the 32BJ self-service portal, unless the Union directs,
in writing, that Deductions be remitted by means
other than electronic transmittals. The Union shall
specify reasonable information to be recorded and/
or transmitted by the Employer, as necessary and
consistent with this Agreement.
Employers who are currently transmitting
Deductions by ACH shall continue to do so. The
parties recognize that Employers who are not currently
transmitting Deductions by ACH may need time and/
or training to be able to do so. The Union shall provide
any necessary training opportunity to the Employer to
facilitate electronic transmissions. Those Employers
who are not currently transmitting Deductions by ACH
shall commence transmission by ACH no later than nine
(9) months from the date an Employer first becomes
signatory to this Agreement (the “Transition Period”),
provided that any reasonably requested training has
been provided by the Union. It is understood that the
transition to ACH payment may cause some delays in
effecting transmission. During the Transition Period,
10
Employers who deduct appropriately, but whose
transmissions are delayed, shall not be subject to
interest or penalties owing to such delays.
If a signatory does not revoke the dues
authorization at the end of a year following the date
of authorization, or at the end of the current contract,
whichever is earlier, it shall be deemed a renewal
of authorization, irrevocable for another year, or
until the expiration of the next succeeding contract,
whichever is earlier.
The Union agrees to indemnify and save such
Employer and the RAB harmless from any liability
incurred by reason of such deductions.
In keeping with the extension of Article I,
Section 1 to include all areas within the geographical
jurisdiction of the Union and the RAB, the RAB and
the Union will establish a joint industry committee
comprised of at least six (6) representatives from all
sectors of the commercial and residential industry
to meet on an ongoing basis, but not less than
quarterly. The committee shall review and analyze
prevailing market conditions, including wage and
rental rates, and develop procedures for resolving
Union organizational and representation disputes to
minimize disruption and conflict and to promote stable
and efficient labor relations and labor conditions.
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ARTICLE II
Coverage of Agreement
Sub-Contracting
1. The Employer shall not make any agreement
or arrangement for the performance of work and/or
for the categories of work heretofore performed by
employees covered by this Agreement except within
the provisions and limitations set forth below.
2. The Employer shall give advance written
notice to the RAB and the Union at least three (3)
weeks prior to the effective date of its contracting for
such services, or changing contractors, indicating the
name and address of the contractor.
3. The Employer shall require the contractor to
retain all bargaining unit employees working at the
location at the time the contract was awarded and to
maintain the existing wage and benefit structure.
The Employer agrees that employees then
engaged in the work which is contracted out shall
become employees of the initial contractor or any
successor contractor, and agrees to employ or reemploy the employees working for the contractor
when the contract is terminated or cancelled.
This provision shall not be construed to prevent
termination of any employee’s employment under
12
other provisions of this agreement relating to illness,
retirement, resignation, discharge for cause, or layoff
by reason of reduction of force; however, a contractor
may not reduce force or change the work schedule
without first obtaining written consent from the
union, which shall not be unreasonably withheld.
If the Union does not respond in writing to
a contractor’s request to reduce the work force or
change the work schedules within four (4) weeks after
written notification, or if the Union denies in whole
or in part the contractor’s request, the contractor
must, if it wishes to pursue the reduction in force
or change in work schedule, invoke and conclude
expedited arbitration as provided in Article VIII
before implementing any such reduction or change.
If the contractor fails to comply with any
agreement with the Union covering the work which
was contracted out, the Employer shall be liable
severally and jointly with the contractor for any and
all damages sustained by the employees or the RAB as
the result thereof, or for any unpaid Health, Pension,
Training, Legal, and Supplemental Retirement and
Savings contributions. The Employer’s liability shall
commence the date it receives written notice from
the Union or the RAB of the contractor’s failure to
so comply.
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4. Any cleaning contractor who performs
services for an owner and/or managing agent who
is signatory to this agreement shall be entitled to
the following provisions of this Agreement at the
signatory buildings: Seniority, Hours, Flexibility,
Work of Absentees, and the right to the procedure
of an expedited hearing with respect to the reduction
in force procedures as provided in Section 3 of this
Article. Any other provisions concerning reduction
in force shall be those as set forth in the cleaning
contractors’ agreement with the Union.
5. Whenever and wherever a contractor has
the right to employ employees at wages, hours,
terms and conditions different than those required
by this contract (including without limitations,
employees covered by Article XIII, paragraph 2, of
the 2020 Contractors Agreement with Local 32BJ and
employees covered by Article XIII Paragraph 2 of the
Independent Contractors Agreement) then the Owner
and/or Agent performing such work may employ
employees at the same wages, hours, terms and
conditions as would be applicable to the contractor’s
employees.
6. This Article is intended to apply to all
employees employed in any building committed to
this Agreement and to categories of employees to the
extent that such categories of employees are “fairly
14
claimable” by the Union, within existing National
Labor Relations Board case law. In the event that
the application of this Article, or any part thereof,
is held to be in violation of law, then this Article, or
any part thereof, shall remain applicable to the extent
permitted by law.
ARTICLE III
Wages, Hours & Working Conditions
1. Except as otherwise provided herein, the
wages set forth in Article XVII shall be effective as
of January 1, 2020, and all other terms and conditions
shall become effective on the payroll date nearest to
January 1, 2020. As to all buildings later adopting
this agreement, it shall take effect in accordance with
Article X.
2. No provision of this Agreement shall be
construed so as to lower any employee’s wage. If
employees in any building had in effect on January 1,
2016, a practice of terms or conditions better than those
provided for herein, applicable generally to them for
wages, hours, sick pay, vacations, holidays, premium
pay for Saturday and/or Sunday work, relief periods,
jury duty or group life insurance, such better terms
or conditions shall be continued only for employees
employed by the Employer on January 1, 2016. Any
employee who acquired a better term or condition after
15
January 1, 2016, shall continue to receive same. The
Arbitrator may relieve the obligations in the preceding
sentences if enforcement would work an undue
hardship, injustice or inequity upon the Employer.
A change of schedules or duties except as
provided in paragraph 3 of this Article, so long as
required relief and luncheon periods are reasonably
spaced, shall not violate this Section, provided the
employee, the Union and the RAB are given at least
three (3) weeks advance written notice and such
change is reasonable. However, every employee
presently working a regular Monday through Friday
workweek (and if such employee leaves employment
for any reason whatever the person who fills such
employee’s position) shall receive premium pay at
time and one-half the regular straight-time hourly
rate for any work performed by an employee on a
Saturday or Sunday.
Employers shall provide temporary schedule
changes in accordance with the coverage and
requirements of New York City Admin. Code §
20-1261 et seq., and the grievance and arbitration
procedure shall be the sole and exclusive forum for
any such claims and remedies. The ability to pursue
remedies in any other forum is hereby waived.
3. All new employees may be offered and
assigned to any cleaning duty in the building, provided
16
that it does not exceed a reasonable day’s work.
Present office cleaning employees may be assigned to
any cleaning duty on office floors provided (1) that
the Employer give the Union three (3) weeks written
notice of any new assignments except for temporary
assignments, and (2) that the Employer shall not assign
employees to workloads or work duties requiring
unusual physical exertion, strength or dexterity.
This provision shall not be applied by the Employer
to substantially increase present workloads or to
substantially alter duties so as to require the employee
to perform more than a reasonable day’s work.
If the Union grieves and/or arbitrates a dispute
pursuant to this provision, the Employer in such
arbitration shall have the burden of showing that only
a reasonable day’s work as provided above is required
of the employee.
ARTICLE IV
Management Rights
1. The Union recognizes management’s rights to
direct and control its policies subject to the obligations
of this Agreement.
2. Employees will cooperate with management
within the obligations of this Agreement to facilitate
efficient building operation.
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3. If any employee is unjustly discharged, such
employee shall be reinstated to the employee’s former
position without loss of seniority or rank and without
salary reduction. The Joint Industry Grievance
Committee or the Arbitrator may determine whether,
and to what extent, the employee shall be compensated
by the Employer for time lost.
4. If an employee is removed from a location at
the good faith demand of a customer, the Employer
may remove the employee from further employment
at that location, provided there is a good faith reason
to justify such removal, apart from the demand itself.
Upon the Union’s request, the Employer will advise the
Union of information it has relating to the customer’s
complaint and make reasonable efforts to secure from
the customer a written confirmation of the customer’s
request. Unless the Employer has cause to discharge
the employee, the Employer will place the employee
in a similar job at another facility within the same
county covered by this Agreement (unless the Union
and the Employer shall agree to place the employee
in a similar job in a different county covered by this
Agreement), without loss of entitlement seniority or
reduction in pay or benefits and pay Displacement
Pay to such employee equivalent to the Termination
Pay Schedule set forth in Article XXI, Sec. 21(a), but
not less than two (2) weeks pay.
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In the event an employee is transferred to
another building and is not filling a vacant position,
the Employer shall seek volunteers on the basis
of seniority within the job title. If there are no
volunteers, the junior employees shall be selected for
transfer and receive the same Displacement Pay and
protection afforded to the transferred employee. In
the event an employee is discharged pursuant to this
section, the Employer must raise the issue of transfer
in such discharge arbitration.
5. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION – In
accordance with Article 10-A of the New York
Workers’ Compensation Law, §350 et seq., the
Employer shall be permitted to contract with a preferred
provider organization (PPO) to deliver all medical
services mandated by the Workers’ Compensation
Law. The Employer and employees may exercise all
rights granted to them under Article 10-A.
ARTICLE V
Reduction in Force
1. The Employer shall have the right to
reduce its work force in the following circumstances,
provided that it can establish that the changes listed
below eliminate an amount of work similar to the
proposed reduction in worker hours:
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(a) A change in work specifications or work
assignment which results in a reduction
of work
(b) Elimination of all or part of specified work
(c) Vacancies in building
(d) Reconstruction of all or part of building
(e) The tenant performing the work itself
(f) Introduction of technological advances
(g) Change in the nature or type of occupancy
2. If the Employer desires to reduce its work
force, it is required, in addition to their accrued
vacation credits and termination pay, if any, to give
employees employed for one (1) year or more one
(1) week notice of layoff or discharge, or in lieu
thereof, an additional week pay. The Employer shall
give four (4) weeks written notification to the Union
and the RAB. The Employer shall include in such
notification the following:
(a) Reason for reduction, specifying whether
the reduction is being made pursuant to one or more
of the reasons set forth in this Article.
(b) If reduction is office cleaning work,
notification should include work schedules showing
hours, cleaning area footage and frequency of
cleaning existing prior to the reduction and after the
reduction.
20
(c) If other work, notification should include
the precise work to be eliminated, setting forth
the hours spent on each task to be eliminated and
the change in schedules and duties of remaining
employees resulting from the reduction in force.
(d) If the reduction is due to technological
advances, the notice shall describe the technological
advance, how it will reduce work, the number of
worker-hours of reduced work and the change
in schedules and duties of remaining employees
resulting from the reduction in force.
3. In the event that a reduction in the work force
is effected and the reason for the reduction in the
work force ceases to exist, then the Employer shall
reinstate the work force that existed prior to the
reduction in force.
4. If the Union grieves or arbitrates a dispute
pursuant to this provision, the following shall apply:
(a) The arbitration shall be expedited and in no
event shall be scheduled and heard later than seven (7)
calendar days after the Union’s request for arbitration.
(b) The Employer shall affirmatively
demonstrate that it has eliminated an amount of work
similar to the reduction in worker hours.
(c) The arbitrator shall issue an award within
seven (7) calendar days after the close of the hearing.
21
(d) There shall be no adjournments granted
without mutual consent.
5. (a) The Employer shall have the right to
reduce the work force among employees working in
its building pursuant to Article II of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement provided that it can establish
that the changes listed below eliminate an amount of
work similar to the proposed reduction in worker hours:
(i) vacancies in building;
(ii) reconstruction of all or part of building;
(iii) the tenant performing the work itself.
The Employer shall give four (4) weeks written
notification to the Union and the RAB of any
reduction in force. The notice should include the
specific reason for the reduction and the number of
worker hours being reduced.
Upon request of the Union, additional information
with respect to changes in work assignments
occasioned by the reduction shall be provided.
In the event that the four weeks notice provided
for herein is not given and the Employer lays off
employees pursuant to this provision, the Employer
shall pay an amount equal to the laid-off employees’
wages and fringe benefits (including, but not limited
to Pension, Health, Training, Legal and Supplemental
22
Retirement and Savings Fund Contributions,
Holidays, Vacation, Sick Pay and Premium Pay) for
the period beginning with the layoff until four (4)
weeks after the Employer notifies the Union or the
issuance of a final arbitration award, whichever is
sooner, but in no event less than four (4) weeks, even
if the layoff is upheld by the Arbitrator.
In the event that a reduction in work force is
implemented and the reason for the reduction ceases
to exist, the work force that existed prior to the
reduction shall be restored.
(b) In the event that the Employer desires
to implement a reduction in work force among
employees working in its building pursuant to Article
II of this Agreement for any reason set forth in Article
V, subsection 1, that is not provided for elsewhere,
it may do so provided that it can demonstrate to a
special committee consisting of the President of
the Union and the President of the RAB, or their
designees, that such reduction is justified. In making
its determination, the Committee shall consider
whether the requested reduction is accompanied by a
corresponding reduction in work, existing productivity
levels in the building and any other factors which the
Committee may deem relevant. No reduction may be
implemented without the unanimous agreement of
the Committee. The decision of the Committee shall
23
be final and binding and not reviewable under the
arbitration provisions of this Agreement.
The Committee shall be convened upon the
written request of the Employer. The written request
must be made to the President of the Union and the
President of the RAB by registered or certified mail
(return receipt requested). The Committee must be
convened within sixty (60) days of the receipt of such
written request. In the event that the Committee is not
convened in the sixtieth (60th) day and the Employer
is still requesting a reduction in force, it shall serve
another written notice on the Committee members by
registered or certified mail (return receipt requested)
that it intends to implement the reduction within ten
(10) days. If the Committee does not convene within
ten (10) days after such notice (except for adjournments
requested by the Employer) the reduction in force may
be implemented in such manner as provided herein,
whether the requested reduction is accompanied by a
corresponding reduction in work, existing productivity
levels in the building and any other factors which the
Committee may deem relevant. No reduction may be
implemented without the unanimous agreement of
the Committee. The decision of the Committee shall
be final and binding and not reviewable under the
arbitration provisions of this Agreement.
24
This provision shall apply to all employees
employed pursuant to Article II of this Agreement
notwithstanding any provisions of any other collective
bargaining agreement.
6. In the event that the four weeks notice
provided for herein is not given and the Employer
lays off employees pursuant to this provision, the
Employer shall pay an amount equal to the laid-off
employees’ wages and fringe benefits (including,
but not limited to Pension, Health, Training, Legal
and Supplemental Retirement and Savings Fund
Contributions, Holidays, Vacation, Sick Pay and
Premium Pay) for the period beginning with the
layoff until four (4) weeks after the Employer notifies
the Union or the issuance of a final arbitration award,
whichever is sooner, but in no event less than four (4)
weeks, even if the layoff is upheld by the arbitrator.
The fact that payment of employees’ wages and fringe
benefits are provided for herein shall in no way be
construed as a limitation of the Arbitrator’s power and
authority under other provisions of this Agreement.
ARTICLE VI
Reason for Discharge
Any employee who is discharged shall be
furnished a written statement of reason(s) for such
discharge no later than five (5) working days after the
date of discharge.
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In appropriate circumstances, the Employer may
supplement and/or amend its written statement of
the reason(s) for discharge within a reasonable time.
Such amended statement shall be substituted for the
initial statement without prejudice to the Employer,
including in an arbitration.
ARTICLE VII
Grievance Procedure
It is agreed that harmonious relations between the
parties require the efficient disposition of grievances.
There shall be a Joint Industry Grievance
Committee and a grievance procedure:
1. To try to decide all issues not covered
by, and not inconsistent with, any provision of
this Agreement and which are not required to be
arbitrated under its terms.
2. To try to decide without arbitration any issues
between the parties which under this Agreement they
must submit to the Arbitrator.
3. The grievance may first be taken up between
the representative of Management and a representative
of the Union. If it is not settled, it may be filed for
arbitration.
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4. All Union claims are brought by the Union
alone and no individual shall have the right to
compromise or settle any claim without the written
permission of the Union.
5. The grievance shall be simultaneously
submitted to the Joint Industry Grievance Committee
when the grievance is filed.
6. The Committee shall be composed of
representatives of the Union and the RAB, who may
be present at any meeting. If the Committee meeting
is not held before the arbitration date, the meeting will
be cancelled. It shall be the function of the Committee
to seek and encourage settlement of all disputes
brought before it.
Except in extraordinary circumstances, the
parties will participate in a Joint Industry Grievance
Committee meeting before a grievance proceeds
to arbitration and the scheduling of a Joint Industry
Grievance Committee meeting shall not delay
arbitration.
7. Any grievance, except as otherwise provided
herein and except a grievance involving basic wage
violations and Pension, Health, Legal, Training,
and Supplemental Retirement and Savings Fund
contributions, shall be presented to the RAB in
27
writing within one hundred twenty (120) days of
its occurrence, except for grievances involving
suspension without pay or discharge which shall
be presented within forty-five (45) days, unless the
Employer agrees to an extension. The Arbitrator shall
have the authority to extend the above time limitations
for good cause shown.
8. Where a failure to compensate overtime work
can be unequivocally demonstrated through employer
payroll records, the Union may grieve the failure to
compensate overtime for the three (3) year period
prior to the filing of the grievance.
ARTICLE VIII
Arbitration
1. A Contract Arbitrator shall have the power
to decide all differences arising between the parties
as to interpretation, application or performance of
any part of this Agreement, and such other issues
as are expressly required to be arbitrated, including
such issues as may be initiated by the Trustees of the
Funds. Nothing in this Agreement shall preclude
deferral where the National Labor Relations Act
(“NLRA”) provides for deferral.
2. A hearing shall be initially scheduled within
two (2) to fifteen (15) working days after either the
28
Union or the RAB has served written notice upon
the Office of the Contract Arbitrator, with copy
to the other party, of any issue to be submitted.
The Arbitrator’s oath-taking, and the period, and
the requirements for service of notice in the form
prescribed by statute are hereby waived. Upon the
joint request of all parties, the Arbitrator shall issue a
“bench decision,” with written award to follow within
the required time period. A written award shall be
made by the Arbitrator within thirty (30) days after
the hearing closes. If an award is not timely rendered,
either the Union or the RAB may demand in writing
of the Arbitrator that the award must be made within
ten (10) more days. If no decision is rendered within
that time, either the Union or the RAB may notify
the Arbitrator of the termination of the Arbitrator’s
office as to all issues submitted to the Arbitrator in
that proceeding. By mutual consent of the Union and
the RAB, the time of both the hearing and decision
may be extended in a particular case. If a party,
after due written notice, defaults in appearing before
the Arbitrator, an award may be rendered upon the
testimony of the other party.
No more than one adjournment per party shall
be granted by the Arbitrator without consent of the
opposing party.
29
There shall be an expedited arbitration procedure
where the contract so provides which shall require the
Arbitrator to hear and determine the matter within
four (4) weeks after the demand for arbitration is filed.
Due written notice means mailing, faxing or hand
delivery to the address of the Employer furnished to
the Union by the RAB.
In the event that the Union appears at an
arbitration without the grievant, the Arbitrator shall
conduct the hearing, provided it is not adjourned.
The Arbitrator shall decide the case based upon the
evidence adduced at the hearing.
3. The procedure herein with respect to matters
over which a Contract Arbitrator has jurisdiction
shall be the sole and exclusive method for the
determination of all such issues, and the Arbitrator
shall have the power to award appropriate remedies,
the award being final and binding upon the parties and
the employee(s) or Employer(s) involved. Nothing
herein shall be construed to forbid either party from
resorting to court for relief from, or to enforce rights
under, any award. In any proceeding to confirm an
award of the Arbitrator, service may be made by
registered or certified mail, within or without the
State of New York, as the case may be.
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4. Should either party fail to abide by an
arbitration award within two (2) weeks after such
award is sent by registered or certified mail to the
parties, either party may, in its sole and absolute
discretion, take any action necessary to secure such
award including but not limited to suits at law. Should
either party bring such suit, it shall be entitled, if it
succeeds, to receive from the other party all expenses
for counsel fees and court costs.
5. Grievants attending grievances and
arbitrations shall be paid for their regularly scheduled
hours during such attendance.
6. If the Union requires an employee of the
building to be a witness at the hearing and the
Employer adjourns the hearing, the employee witness
shall be paid by the Employer for such employee’s
regularly scheduled hours during attendance at such
hearing. This provision shall be limited to one
employee witness.
7. The RAB shall be deemed a party to any
proceeding under this Article.
8. The parties have agreed to an Office of the
Contract Arbitrator-Building Service Industry. The
Union and the RAB have appointed the following
Panel of Arbitrators:
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John Anner
Stuart Bauchner
Melissa Biren
Dean Burrell
Howard C. Edelman
Deborah Gaines
Gary Kendellen
Randi Lowitt
Earl Pfeffer
David Reilly
Haydee Rosario
William Schecter
Julie Torrey
All cases involving a Superintendent shall be
assigned to Arbitrators John Anner or David Reilly.
Upon thirty (30) days written notice to each
other, either the Union or the RAB may terminate the
services of any Arbitrator on the panel. Successor or
additional Arbitrators shall be appointed by mutual
agreement of the Union and the RAB. In the event
of the removal, death or resignation of all of the
Arbitrators, the successors or temporary substitute
shall be chosen by the Union and the RAB. If the
parties are unable to agree on a successor, then the
Chairperson of the New York State Employment
Relations Board shall appoint a successor after
consultation with the parties.
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The cost of the Office of the Contract Arbitrator
shall be shared in a manner determined by the Union
and the RAB.
ARTICLE IX
No Strikes or Lockouts
1. There shall be no work stoppage, strike,
lockout or picketing except as provided in Sections 2,
3, and 4 of this Article. If this provision is violated,
the matter may be submitted immediately to the
Arbitrator.
In the event of an alleged violation of this
Article, the RAB or the Union may, by hand delivery
or by facsimile, request an immediate arbitration.
The Office of the Contract Arbitrator shall schedule a
hearing on the alleged violation within 24 hours after
receipt of said notice. The Arbitrator shall issue an
award determining whether or not said alleged strike
or lockout is in violation of the collective bargaining
agreement and award appropriate remedy. This is
a procedural provision intended only to bring the
arbitration on more quickly.
2. If a judgment or Arbitrator’s award against
the Employer for Health, Pension, Training, Legal
and Supplemental Retirement and Savings Fund
payment or wages or an award or judgment against a
33
contractor for these or other payments is not complied
with within three (3) weeks after such award is sent
by registered or certified mail to the Employer or
contractor at its last known address, the Union may
order a stoppage of work, strike or picketing in the
building involved to enforce the award or judgment,
and it may also thereby compel payment of lost wages
to any employee engaged in such activity. Upon
compliance with the award and/or judgment and
payment of lost wages, such activity shall cease.
3. Except as otherwise provided in this Article,
should either party fail to abide by an arbitration
award within three (3) weeks after such award is sent
by registered or certified mail to the parties, either
party may, in its sole and absolute discretion, bring
an action at law to enforce such award. Should either
party commence such suit, it shall be entitled, if it
succeeds, to receive from the other party all reasonable
expenses for counsel fees and court costs. Should
either party fail to abide by an arbitration award and
fail to commence an action in court to vacate such
award within three (3) weeks after such award is
served as provided above, the aggrieved party shall
have the right to strike and compel payment of lost
wages to any employee engaged in strike activity
or lockout without affecting the other terms and
conditions of the Agreement.
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4. The Union may order a work stoppage, strike
or picketing in a building where the Employer has
violated Article II, provided that seventy-two (72)
hours written notice is given either by hand delivery
or by facsimile to the Employer and the RAB of the
Union’s intention to do so.
5. The Union shall not be held liable for any
violation of this Article where it appears that it
has taken all reasonable steps to avoid and end the
violation.
6. Labor Peace Committee – In the interest of
labor peace, and in recognition of the relationship
between the New York City Real Estate Industry and
the Union, the Union President and the RAB President,
or their designees, and such other persons as they may
mutually designate (including representatives of any
interested employers) shall convene on a quarterly
basis, or at the request of either President, to discuss
any labor disputes, of which they are aware, with
Employers. Both parties shall use their best efforts
to notify the other party of such disputes in advance
in order to provide an adequate opportunity to seek to
resolve such disputes.
35
ARTICLE X
Multi-Employer Bargaining
1. Employers on the Master List submitted
by the RAB to the Union at the commencement of
the negotiations shall be bound by the terms of this
Agreement. All buildings listed by the RAB must
pay scale wages and other terms and conditions of
employment in accordance with the RAB Agreement
prior to the expiration of this Agreement except that in
Nassau and Suffolk Counties wage rates and benefit
fund contributions shall be negotiated separately.
2. If there is a bona fide sale or other transfer of
title of any member building, or a change of control
through a lease, or in the case of non-corporate
ownership, if any person or persons completely
divest themselves of ownership or control by any
arrangement, the successors in ownership or control
may, unless they have otherwise indicated their
intention not to be bound by this agreement, join the
RAB and adopt the contract within forty-five (45)
days after such acquisition, provided:
(a) The building is not already bound by
another agreement.
(b) Written notice is given to the Union within
five (5) days after joining the RAB. Notice shall be
given by hand delivery or postmarked not later than the
fifth business day.
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(c) If the building was covered by an
agreement, (1) during such period there is no layoff
or change in wages, hours, terms or conditions of
employment therein; (2) the new owner or transferee
recognizes employee seniority and vacation status; (3)
all obligations to employees, and those pursuant to the
Health, Pension, Training, Legal and/or Supplemental
Retirement and Savings Funds, are fully paid up to
the transfer date; and (4) provision is made to pay
retroactively any wage underpayments resulting from
the building’s improper classification under Article
XVI. Any adoption by the Employer shall be deemed
to be effective on the date of sale.
(d) A building being converted to cooperative
or condominium ownership shall be treated as a
newly acquired building upon the effective date of
the declaration of the cooperative or condominium
plan or transfer of title, or upon the transfer of shares
to the first cooperative owners or the sale of first
condominium unit, whichever is later.
(e) Any Employer signatory to an agreement
with the Union other than this Agreement shall
remain bound to the terms of that Agreement until
its expiration date. If such Employer joins the RAB,
it may adopt the RAB contract and be fully covered
by the terms of the RAB Agreement after expiration
of its other agreement and before execution of a new
contract provided:
37
(1) Notice in writing is given to the Union
of such adoption prior to the expiration of the other
contract,
(2) Such Employer is not in default under
the other contract, and
(3) The RAB approves such membership.
3. With respect to newly organized, newly
constructed buildings, or remodeled buildings that
are tenant occupied, the Employer shall have fortyfive (45) days to file a commitment to this Agreement
after the Union serves a representation notice on the
Employer with a showing of majority status of the
existing employees, with a copy to the RAB.
Where the time limits provided for in this Article
are not complied with, this Agreement shall not be
applicable to such building unless the Union agrees
to same in writing.
4. This Article notwithstanding, the Union may
refuse to accept any building:
(a) until it represents a majority of the building
service employees;
(b) where contributions for Pension, Health,
Training, Legal and/or Supplemental Retirement and
Savings Funds are in default for three (3) months or
more from the date payment was due;
38
(c) where an award of the Arbitrator has not
been complied with;
(d) the Union may not refuse to accept
a building where during the term of this or the
preceding Collective Bargaining Agreement, the
Employer has taken a building whose employees
are represented by the Union and in which building
it has instituted a reduction in force or changed
existing conditions of employment, provided that the
Employer has done so in a manner consistent with
the terms of this Agreement. This provision shall
not be construed as relieving the Employer from any
other obligations under this Agreement. The right of
refusal shall not be exercised in order to require the
building to become a party to any other agreement.
Before so refusing any building or taking any further
action, the Union shall notify the RAB in writing.
5. In the event that the Union enters into a
contract, or contracts, or enters into renewals or
modifications of a contract, or contracts with any
Employer(s) covering commercial buildings which
contain new or revised economic terms or other
conditions which are effective on or after January
1, 2020, which economic terms or conditions are
more favorable to such Employer(s) than the terms
contained in this Agreement, the RAB and all its
member buildings shall be entitled to and may have
the full benefit of any and all of such more favorable
39
terms, upon notification to the Union. This provision
may be waived in writing for good cause shown by
the President of the RAB and the President of the
Union, or their designees.
Upon request of the President of the RAB, the
Union shall provide copies of any agreements outside
of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island or Queens that
are more favorable to the Employer than the terms of
this Agreement.
In buildings where wage rates under the category
of “others” prior to January 1, 2020, were lower than
those provided for in the 2016 Commercial Building
Agreement, wage increases agreed to by the Union
and the Employers covering said buildings on or after
January 1, 2020, shall not be construed as “more
favorable” within the meaning of this Article unless
the percentage increase in wages of the “others”
category is lower than that provided for in this
Agreement. This provision shall not apply to:
(a) Newly organized buildings during their
first contract period;
(b) Buildings in bankruptcy;
(c) Buildings in receivership;
(d) Employees who are solely and exclusively
security guards;
(e) One-person buildings;
40
(f) Hardship buildings granted relief in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement; and
(g) Buildings located outside Manhattan,
Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.
The Union shall furnish the RAB a list of present
agreements which are more favorable to the Employer
than this Agreement.
Any Employer claiming financial hardship in
operating a building may request a hearing before
a Special Committee consisting of the President of
the Union and the President of the RAB, or their
designees. At such hearing, the Employer shall
present proof of financial hardship, including, without
limitation, financial statements. The Committee
may grant or deny in whole or in part relief from the
provisions of this contract. This provision shall not
be subject to grievance and arbitration.
ARTICLE XI
Health, Pension, Training, Legal and
Supplemental Retirement and Savings Funds
A. HEALTH FUND
1. The Employer shall make contributions to
a health trust fund, known as the “Building Service
32BJ Health Fund,” to cover employees covered by
41
this Agreement who work more than two (2) days per
week, with such health benefits as may be determined
by the Trustees of the Fund. The Employer may,
unless rejected by the Trustees, upon execution of a
participation agreement in the form acceptable to the
Trustees, cover such other of its employees as it may
elect, provided such coverage is in compliance with
law and the Trust Agreement.
Employees who are on workers’ compensation
or who are receiving statutory short term disability
benefits, Building Service 32BJ long term disability
benefits, or a Building Service 32BJ disability
pension, shall be covered by the Health Fund without
employer contributions until they may be covered
by Medicare or thirty (30) months from the date of
disability, whichever is earlier.
In no event shall any employee who was
previously covered for health benefits lose such
coverage as a result of a change or elimination of
the Health Fund provision extending coverage for
disability. In the event the provision extending
coverage for disability is discontinued for any reason,
the Employer shall be obligated to make contributions
for the duration of the period that would have
otherwise been available.
42
2. Effective January 1, 2020, the rate of
contribution to the Health Fund shall be $20,496.00
per year for each covered employee, payable when
and how the Trustees determine.
3. Effective January 1, 2021, the rate of
contribution to the Fund shall be $21,240.00 per year
for each covered employee.
4. Effective January 1, 2022, the rate of
contribution to the Fund shall be $22,188.00 per year
for each covered employee.
5. Effective January 1, 2023, the rate of
contribution to the Fund shall be $23,196.00 per year
for each covered employee.
6. The parties agree that if there is governmental
health care reform mandating payment, in full or
part, by a contributing Employer for some or all of
the benefits already provided for in the Health Fund
to participants, the parties shall meet to discuss what
ameliorative steps, if any, might be appropriate
to minimize any adverse impact on the Funds, its
participants and Employers.
The parties agree that if the recently passed
healthcare reform legislation or any future
governmental healthcare reform requires (i) any
43
payment by contributing Employers for some or all
of the benefits already provided for in the Health
Fund to participants or (ii) requires any contributing
Employers to pay any excise or other tax, penalty
(including assessable payments), fee or other
amount relating to or resulting from the eligibility
requirements of or the level of benefits provided
by the Fund, the parties shall recommend that the
Trustees revise the plan of benefits under the Fund
so that such excise or other tax, penalty (including
assessable payments), fee or other amount are not
payable. In the event the Trustees do not revise the
plan of benefits under the Fund so that such excise
or other tax, penalty (including assessable payments),
fee or other amount are not payable, the affected
Employers’ contributions to the Fund, or contributions
to the other Benefit Funds shall be reduced by the
amount of such excise or other tax, penalty (including
assessable payments), fee or other amount. With
respect to any future governmental healthcare reform
that requires any payments described in (i) and/or (ii)
in this paragraph, the bargaining parties will bargain
over what to recommend to the Trustees consistent
with the goals of maintaining quality benefits and
containing costs.
7. Except as qualified by Article III, Section 2, of
this Agreement with respect to group life insurance,
any Employer who becomes party to this Agreement
44
and who has a plan in effect immediately prior
thereto, which provides health benefits, the equivalent
or better than, the benefits provided for herein, and
the cost of which to the Employer is at least as great,
may upon agreement of the Union and RAB, cover its
employees under its existing plan in lieu of this Fund.
If any future applicable legislation is enacted,
there shall be no duplication or cumulation of
coverage and the parties will negotiate such changes
as may be required by law.
8. Health Fund Study Committee
The RAB and the Union reaffirm their strong
commitment to continue the work of the Health Fund
Study Committee to evaluate the Building Service
32BJ Health Fund benefits and operations, with the
goal being to recommend to the Trustees ways for the
Health Fund to continuously save money on medical,
administrative and other costs associated with the
Health Fund while maintaining high quality of care
for Health Fund participants. The bargaining parties
have already accepted the previous recommendations
of the Health Fund Study Committee to save the
Health Fund at least $70 million per year in costs
commencing no later than January 1, 2012 and
recommended to the Health Fund Trustees, who acted
upon the recommendations, to take all legal action
45
necessary so that (i) such recommended savings
measures are implemented by the Health Fund;
(ii) the Health Fund reserves do not fall below an
amount equivalent to no less than six (6) full months
of benefit costs and operating expenses; (iii) such
measures shall not thereafter be modified absent
unanimous agreement of the Trustees; and (iv) such
measures are made with the intent of being permanent
and within the purposes of the aforementioned cost
savings. The provisions of subsections (ii) through
(iv) of the prior sentence shall continue to apply to
any new recommended savings measures that are
implemented by the Health Fund pursuant to this
Section. The Health Fund Study Committee shall
meet regularly, and on an ongoing basis, to continue
to monitor and review Health Fund expenditures and
trends, to evaluate and consider best practices and
developments in cost-effective methods of providing
quality benefits for the purposes of continuing to
ensure that substantial savings are being realized
and to recommend any and all appropriate measures
to modify or modulate cost-trends, and to make
recommendations to the collective bargaining parties
and/or Fund Trustees regarding potential actions
including, without limitation, for further savings. The
Health Fund Study Committee shall be comprised of
the President of the RAB and the President of the
Union, or their designees, and the RAB and Union
shall be represented in equal numbers.
46
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Health Fund
Study Committee will meet regularly once a quarter
to review a report from the Health Fund staff of
material items of Fund revenues and expenses for
the prior six-month period and anything else deemed
appropriate by Fund staff. In addition, the Health
Fund staff will also notify the Health Fund Study
Committee as soon as possible upon the occurrence
of any extraordinary event(s) or other information
that is reasonably likely to have a material adverse
effect on the revenues and/or expenses of the Fund
in the future (“Extraordinary Event”), and the Health
Fund Study Committee will hold a special meeting
shortly after such notification. In advance of any such
special meeting (or at any regular quarterly meeting
in which an Extraordinary Event is to be reported),
the Health Fund Study Committee shall require the
Health Fund Benefit Consultant and Fund staff to
provide the Committee with such information and
projections (including options for measures to be
taken to save money on medical and hospital costs
and/or changes that can adopted to the Fund’s plan of
benefits) as is deemed necessary by the Health Fund
Study Committee for such meeting. At such meeting
the Health Fund Study Committee shall negotiate as
to the appropriate actions, if any, they agree to jointly
recommend to the Trustees for adoption to address the
circumstances raised by such Extraordinary Event.
47
9. If during the term of this Agreement, the
Trustees find the payment provided herein is
insufficient to maintain benefits and adequate reserves
for such benefits, they shall require the parties to
increase the amounts needed to maintain such benefits
and reserves. In the event the Trustees are unable to
reach agreement on the amount required to maintain
benefits and reserves, the matter shall be referred to
arbitration pursuant to the deadlock provisions of the
Fund’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust. The
preceding maintenance of benefits provision shall be
suspended for the life of this Agreement.
B. PENSION FUND
1. The Employer shall make contributions to a
pension trust fund known as the “Building Service
32BJ Pension Fund” to cover bargaining unit
employees who are regularly employed twenty (20)
or more hours per week, including paid time off. The
Employer shall also make contributions on behalf of
other bargaining unit employees to the extent that
such employees work a sufficient number of hours
to require benefit accrual pursuant to Section 204 of
ERISA.
Employees unable to work and who are on
statutory short term disability benefits or workers’
compensation shall continue to accrue pension credits
48
without employer contributions during the periods of
disability up to six (6) months or the period of the
disability, whichever is earlier.
2. Effective January 1, 2020, the rate of
contribution to the Fund shall be $118.75 per week
for each covered employee, payable when and how
the Trustees determine.
Effective January 1, 2021, the rate of contribution
to the Fund shall be $122.75 per week for each
covered employee.
Effective January 1, 2022, the rate of contribution
to the Fund shall be $126.75 per week for each
covered employee.
Effective January 1, 2023, the rate of contribution
to the Fund shall be $130.75 per week for each
covered employee.
The bargaining parties agree that the foregoing
contribution requirements for the Pension Fund
are consistent with the contribution rate schedules
required by the Pension Fund’s rehabilitation plan
under Section 432 of the Internal Revenue Code.
3. Any Employer who becomes party to this
Agreement and who immediately prior thereto has
49
a pension plan in effect which provides benefits
equivalent to or better than the benefits provided herein,
may, upon agreement of the Union and RAB, cover its
employees under its existing plan in lieu of this Fund
and be relieved of the obligation to make contributions
to the Fund for the period of such other coverage.
4. If the Employer has an existing plan as
referred to above, it shall not discontinue or reduce
benefits without prior Union consent and the existing
plan shall remain obligated to the employee(s) for
whatever benefits they may be entitled.
5. In no event shall the Trustees or any of them,
the Union or the RAB, directly or indirectly, by
reason of this Agreement, be understood to consent
to the extinguishment, change or diminution of any
legal rights, vested or otherwise, that anyone may
have in the continuation in existing form of any such
Employer pension plan, and the Trustees or any of
them, the Union and the RAB shall be held harmless
by an Employer against any action brought by anyone
covered under such Employer’s plan asserting a claim
based upon anything done pursuant to Section 4.
Notice of the pendency of any such action shall be
given to the Employer who may defend the action on
behalf of the indemnitee.
50
6. The parties agree that if there are new
governmental regulations issued that implement
the excise tax provisions of the Pension Protection
Act (PPA), or there is further governmental reform
relating to the funding of pension funds, the parties
shall meet to discuss what steps, if any, might be
appropriate to ameliorate any adverse impact on the
Funds, its participants and employers.
To the extent that any employer covered by
this Agreement, with respect to employees covered
by this Agreement, becomes subject to an automatic
employer surcharge or any excise tax, penalty, fee,
increased contribution rate or other amount relating
to the funding of the Pension Fund (but not including
interest, liquidated damages, or other amounts owed as
a consequence of failing to make timely remittance of
contributions to the Pension Fund) under Sections 412
or 432 of the Internal Revenue Code, then the parties
agree that the required contributions to the Health
Fund, Training Fund and/or Legal Services Fund for
each employer covered under this Agreement shall be
reduced dollar for dollar by the aggregate amount of
any additional contribution and/or surcharge amounts,
excise taxes, penalties, fees or other amounts that
such employer is required to pay, as provided in this
subsection. Unless a different allocation among the
Funds is agreed upon in advance of any applicable
due date for such contributions by the Presidents
51
of the RAB and Local 32BJ, such amount shall be
allocated solely from the Health Fund.
C. TRAINING, SCHOLARSHIP AND
SAFETY FUND
The Employer shall make contributions to a
training and scholarship trust fund known as the
“Thomas Shortman Training, Scholarship and Safety
Fund” to cover employees covered by this Agreement
who work more than two (2) days per week, with such
benefits as may be determined by the Trustees.
Effective January 1, 2020, the rate of
contributions to the Thomas Shortman Fund shall be
$169.60 per year for each covered employee, payable
when and how the Trustees determine.
D. GROUP PREPAID LEGAL FUND
The Employer shall make contributions to
a prepaid legal services trust fund known as the
“Building Service 32BJ Legal Services Fund” to
cover employees covered by this Agreement who
work more than two (2) days per week with such
benefits as may be determined by the Trustees.
Effective January 1, 2020, the rate of contribution
to the Legal Fund shall be $199.60 per year for
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each covered employee, payable when and how the
Trustees determine.
Effective January 1, 2023, the rate of contribution
to the Legal Fund shall be $36.32 per year for each
covered employee, payable when and how the
Trustees determine.
E. SUPPLEMENTAL RETIREMENT AND
SAVINGS FUND (SRSF)
The Employer shall make contributions to a
trust fund known as the “Building Service 32BJ
Supplemental Retirement and Savings Fund” to
cover bargaining unit employees who are regularly
employed twenty (20) or more hours per week,
including paid time off, with employer contributions
as hereinafter provided and tax exempt employee
wage deferrals as provided by the Plan and/or Plan
rules. Employer contributions for other bargaining
unit employees shall also be required for each week in
which they work twenty (20) or more hours, including
paid time off.
Effective January 1, 2020, the Employer shall
contribute $13.00 per week per covered employee
into the SRSF, payable when and how the Trustees
determine.
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F. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL FUNDS
1. If the Employer fails to make required
reports or payments to the Funds, the Trustees may
in their sole and absolute discretion take any action
necessary, including but not limited to immediate
arbitration and suits at law, to enforce such reports
and payments, together with interest and liquidated
damages as provided in the Funds’ Trust Agreements,
and any and all expenses of collection, including but
not limited to counsel fees, arbitration costs and fees
and court costs.
Any Employer regularly or consistently
delinquent in Health, Pension, Legal, Training or
Supplemental Retirement and Savings Fund payments
may be required, at the option of the Trustees of
the Funds, to provide the appropriate Trust Fund
with security guaranteeing prompt payment of such
payments.
2. By agreeing to make the required payments
into the Funds, the Employer hereby adopts and shall
be bound by the Agreement and Declaration of Trust
as it may be amended and the rules and regulations
adopted or hereafter adopted by the Trustees of
each Fund in connection with the provision and
administration of benefits and the collection of
contributions. The Trustees of the Funds shall make
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such amendments to the Trust Agreements, and
shall adopt such regulations as may be required to
conform to applicable law, and which shall in any
case provide that employees whose work comes
within the jurisdiction of the Union (which shall
not be considered to include anyone in an important
managerial position) may only be covered for
benefits if the building in which they are employed
has a collective bargaining agreement with the Union.
Any dispute about the Union’s jurisdiction shall be
settled by the President of the Union and the RAB’s
President.
3. There shall be no Employer contributions to
the Funds on behalf of employees during their first
ninety (90) days of employment, except as provided
in Article XXI, Section 10(b) below, with respect
to the Building Service Pension and Supplemental
Retirement Savings Funds.
4. The parties agree that the Presidents of
the RAB and Local 32BJ may determine, in their
discretion and upon mutual consent, prior to the
beginning of any calendar year to allocate any portion
of the scheduled contributions in any of the Funds to
any other Funds.
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ARTICLE XII
Disability Benefits Law and
Unemployment Insurance
1. The Employer shall cover its employees so
that they shall receive maximum weekly cash benefits
provided under the New York State Disability
Benefits Law on a non-contributory basis, and also
under the New York State Unemployment Insurance
Law, whether or not such coverages are mandatory.
2. Failure to so cover employees makes the
Employer liable to an employee for all loss of benefits
and insurance.
3. The Employer will cooperate with employees
in processing their claims and shall supply all
necessary forms, properly addressed, and shall post
adequate notice of places for filing claims.
4. If the employee informs the Employer that
the employee is requesting workers’ compensation
benefits, then no sick leave shall be paid to such
employee unless the employee specifically requests in
writing payment of such leave. If an employee informs
the Employer that the employee is requesting disability
benefits, then only five days sick leave shall be paid
to such employee (if the employee has that amount
unused) unless the employee specifically requests in
writing payment of additional available sick leave.
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5. Any employees required to attend their
Workers’ Compensation hearing shall be paid for their
regularly scheduled hours during such attendance.
6. Any cost incurred by the Union to enforce
the provisions of this Article shall be borne by the
Employer.
7. The Parties agree to establish a committee
under the auspices of the Building Service 32BJ
Health Fund to investigate and report on the feasibility
of self-insuring disability and unemployment benefits.
ARTICLE XIII
Sickness Benefits
1. Any regular employee with at least one (1)
year of service (as defined in Section 4 below) in the
building or with the same Employer, shall receive in
a calendar year from the Employer ten (10) paid sick
days for bona fide illness.
Any employee entitled to sickness benefits shall
be allowed five (5) single days of paid sick leave per
year taken in single days. The remaining five (5) days
of paid sick leave may be paid either for illnesses of
more than one (1) day’s duration or may be counted
as unused sick leave days.
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The employee shall receive the above sick pay
whether or not such illness is covered by the New
York State Disability Benefits Law or the New York
State Workers’ Compensation Act; however, there
shall be no pyramiding or duplication of Disability
Benefits and/or Workers’ Compensation.
2. An employee absent from duty due to illness
only on a scheduled workday immediately before
and/or only on the scheduled workday immediately
after a holiday shall not be eligible for sick pay for
said absent workday or workdays.
3. Employees who have continued employment
to the end of the calendar year and have not used
all sickness benefits shall be paid in the succeeding
January, one full day’s pay for each unused sick day.
Any employee who has a perfect attendance
record for the calendar year shall receive an
attendance bonus of $125.00 in addition to payment
of the unused sick days.
For the purpose of this provision, perfect
attendance shall mean that the employee has not used
any sick days (except Union-paid, Union-sponsored
leave for collective bargaining and Union governance
functions).
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If an Employer fails to pay an employee before
the end of February, then such Employer shall pay one
additional day’s pay unless the Employer challenges
the entitlement or amount due.
4. For the purpose of this Article, one (1) year’s
employment shall be reached on the anniversary date
of employment. Employees who complete one (1)
year of service after January 1 shall receive a pro
rata share of sickness benefits for the balance of the
calendar year.
A “regular” employee shall be defined as one
who is a full- or part-time employee employed on
a regular schedule. Those employed less than forty
(40) hours a week on a regular basis shall receive a
pro rata portion of sickness benefits provided herein
computed on a forty (40) hour workweek.
5. All payments set forth in this Article
are voluntarily assumed by the Employer, in
consideration of concessions made by the Union with
respect to various other provisions of this agreement,
and any such payment shall be deemed to be a
voluntary contribution or aid within the meaning of
any applicable statutory provisions.
6. The parties agree that on an annual basis
the paid leave benefits provided regular employees
under this Agreement are comparable to or better
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than those provided under the New York City Earned
Safe and Sick Time Act, N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 20-
911 et seq. Therefore, the provisions of that Act are
hereby waived.
ARTICLE XIV
Building Acquisition by Public Authority
Where a building is acquired by a public authority
of any nature through condemnation, purchase or
otherwise, the last owner shall guarantee the payment
of termination pay and of accrued vacations due to the
employees up to the date of transfer of title. The Union
will, however, seek to have such authority assume the
obligations for payments. If unsuccessful and the last
owner becomes liable for such payments, the amounts
thereof shall be liens upon any condemnation award
or on any amount received by such last owner.
ARTICLE XV
Sale or Transfer of Building
In the event an Employer intends to terminate
its employer-employee relationship under this
Agreement, then the Employer shall give the Union
and the RAB reasonable written notice prior to the
effective date thereof, and upon the request of the
Union the Employer shall meet with the Union to
negotiate the impact of such termination upon the
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employees involved. The obligation to negotiate
shall be subject to arbitration but failure to agree on
the impact shall not be subject to arbitration.
In the event of a change of Employers in a
building, the RAB shall use its best efforts to have
the succeeding Employer join the RAB and become
bound by the terms of this Agreement.
In the event an Employer terminates an employee
or employees because of a change in ownership,
operation or control of a building or buildings, and
such employee(s) are not offered employment or are
not employed by the succeeding Employer in the
building or buildings at the then existing wages, hours
and working conditions, the terminated employee(s)
shall receive severance pay in the amount of six
(6) months’ pay, in addition to any other accrued
payments due under this Agreement.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed
to limit or diminish in any way the Union’s right
to enforce this agreement against any transferee
pursuant to applicable law concerning rules of
successorship or otherwise; nor limit or diminish
in any way the Union’s or any employee’s right to
institute proceedings pursuant to the provisions of
State or Federal labor relations laws, or any statutes,
rules or regulations which may be applicable.
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ARTICLE XVI
Building Classifications
1. Buildings are classified as A, B, or C buildings
according to the following definitions:
(a) Class A building—Gross area of more than
280,000 square feet.
(b) Class B building—Gross area of more than
120,000 and not over 280,000 square feet.
(c) Class C building—Gross area of less than
120,000 square feet.
2. Gross area of a LOFT building is the sum
total of areas existing on the various floors of a loft
building, including the basement space, but excluding
that portion of the penthouse used for the machinery
and appurtenances of the building and that portion of
the basement used for the public utilities and general
operation of the property.
Gross area of an entire floor shall be computed
by measuring from the inside plaster surfaces of all
exterior walls of space encompassed in a tenant’s
premises, including columns, corridors, toilets, slop
sinks, elevator shafts, etc., except that space reserved
for the fire tower court.
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3. Gross area of an OFFICE building is the sum
total of areas existing on the various floors of the
building, including the basement space, but excluding
that portion of the penthouse used for the machinery
and appurtenances of the building and that portion of
the basement used for the public utilities and general
operation of the property.
Gross area of an entire floor shall be computed
by measuring from the inside plaster surface of all
exterior walls of space used by the tenant on the floor,
including columns and corridors, but excluding toilets,
porters closets, slop sinks, elevator shafts, stairs, fire
towers, vents, pipe shafts, meter closets, flues and
stacks, and any vertical shafts and their enclosing
walls. No deductions shall be made for columns,
pilasters, or projections necessary to the building.
ARTICLE XVII
Wages and Hours
1. (a) Effective January 1, 2020, each employee
covered hereunder shall receive a wage increase of
$0.65 for each regular straight time hour worked.
(b) Effective January 1, 2021, each employee
covered hereunder shall receive a wage increase of
$0.70 for each regular straight time hour worked.
(c) Effective January 1, 2022, each employee
covered hereunder shall receive a wage increase of
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$0.70 for each regular straight time hour worked.
(d) Effective January 1, 2023, each employee
covered hereunder shall receive a wage increase of
$0.825 for each regular straight time hour worked.
(e) Additionally, the minimum hourly rate
differential for handypersons, forepersons and
starters, which shall include all employees doing
similar or comparable work by whatever title known,
shall be increased by $0.05 effective on each of the
dates set forth in sub-paragraphs (a) through (d).
Minimum wage rates shall be those set forth
in the tables on pages 155-162 hereof, increased
accordingly to reflect the above increases in each
category of work.
Effective January 1, 2021, in the event that the
percentage increase in the cost of living [Consumer
Price Index for the City of New York-Metropolitan
Area (New York-New Jersey) Urban Wage Earners
and Clerical Workers] from November 2019 to
November 2020 exceeds 6.5%, then, in that event, an
increase of $.10 per hour for each full l% increase in
the cost of living in excess of 6.5% shall be granted
effective for the first full work week commencing
after January 1, 2021. In no event shall said increase
pursuant to this provision exceed $.20 per hour. In
computing increases in the cost of living above 6.5%
less than .5 % shall be ignored and increases of .5% or
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more shall be considered a full point. Any increases
hereunder shall be added to the minimum.
Effective January l, 2022, in the event that the
percentage increase in the cost of living [Consumer
Price Index for the City of New York-Metropolitan
Area (New York-New Jersey) Urban Wage Earners
and Clerical Workers] from November 2020 to
November 2021 exceeds 6%, then, in that event, an
increase of $.10 per hour for each full 1% increase
in the cost of living in excess of 6% shall be granted
effective for the first full work week commencing
after January 1, 2022. In no event shall said increase
pursuant to this provision exceed $.20 per hour. In
computing increases in the cost of living above 6%,
less than .5% shall be ignored and increases of .5% or
more shall be considered a full point. Any increases
hereunder shall be added to the minimum.
Effective January l, 2023, in the event that the
percentage increase in the cost of living [Consumer
Price Index for the City of New York-Metropolitan
Area (New York-New Jersey) Urban Wage Earners
and Clerical Workers] from November 2021 to
November 2022 exceeds 6%, then, in that event, an
increase of $.10 per hour for each full 1% increase
in the cost of living in excess of 6% shall be granted
effective for the first full work week commencing
after January 1, 2023. In no event shall said increase
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pursuant to this provision exceed $.20 per hour. In
computing increases in the cost of living above 6%,
less than .5% shall be ignored and increases of .5% or
more shall be considered a full point. Any increases
hereunder shall be added to the minimum.
2. (a) The standard workweek shall consist of
five (5) consecutive days Monday through Sunday
and shall not exceed eight (8) hours in any one day.
Overtime at the rate of time and one-half the
regular straight-time hourly rate shall be paid for all
hours worked in excess of eight (8) hours per day or
forty (40) hours per week, whichever is greater. A
paid holiday shall be considered as a day worked for
the purpose of computing overtime pay. There shall
be no split shifts.
(b) Employees on the payroll on or before
January 1, 1978, shall not have their scheduled hours
reduced. Employees on the payroll on or before
January 1, 1978 shall not have their scheduled hours
increased by more than one (1) hour a day without
written consent of the Union. Where feasible the
additional hour shall be applied to the first part of
the work schedule. The Employer shall give the
Union three (3) weeks written notice of any change of
scheduled hours except in case of temporary changes.
This provision shall not prevent the Employer from
working employees overtime.
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Employees employed after January 1, 1978, shall
work such hours as may be assigned by the Employer
provided they are not less than five (5) hours a day and
five (5) consecutive days a week except for guards as
defined in this agreement.
(c) The weekly working hours for elevator
operators and starters shall include two twenty (20)
minute relief periods each day, but shall exclude
luncheon recess of not less than forty-five (45)
minutes or more than one (1) hour each day.
Employees, other than those referred to in the
paragraph above, the majority of whose hours fall
between 7 P.M. and 6 A.M., shall receive a fifteen
(15) minute relief/lunch period. At the option of the
Employer, the employees who work seven (7) hours
or more per day shall, in addition to their regular pay
for scheduled hours, receive either additional straighttime pay for one-half (1/2) hour or be relieved one-half
(1/2) hour earlier. For those employees working six (6)
hours per day, they shall receive an additional twentyfive (25) minutes straight-time pay or be relieved
twenty-five (25) minutes earlier. For those employees
working five (5) hours per day, they shall receive an
additional fifteen (15) minutes straight-time pay or
be relieved fifteen (15) minutes earlier. This change
shall in no way affect the overtime provisions of the
contract, nor affect the Employer’s right to reschedule
hours to provide necessary continuity of coverage.
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(d) Where through absenteeism there are
insufficient employees to service the building the
Employer may (1) request employees to work
additional time over and above their work schedule
on a voluntary basis or (2) employ additional or extra
employees to perform the work. Additional time over
and above the normal work schedules shall not be
mandatory unless the Employer cannot satisfactorily
fill the work requirements on a voluntary basis. In such
event, work over and above the regular work schedule
shall be assigned in reverse order of seniority.
This paragraph (d) shall not apply to employees
in newly constructed buildings.
(e) Every employee shall be entitled to two
(2) consecutive days off in any seven (7) days, and
any work performed on such days shall be considered
overtime and paid for at the rate of time and one-half.
(f) No employees shall have their working
hours reduced in order to effect corresponding
reductions in pay. This provision shall not apply to
relief employees.
3. The Employers in the industry shall meet
and confer with the Union to attempt to reschedule
employees’ quitting time to enable groups of night
workers, when practicable, to leave work during
times so that they can arrive home safely. Upon
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failure to agree, the matter may be referred to RAB
and the Union collective bargaining committees for
further discussion.
4. Saturday and Sunday are premium days for
all employees (excluding guards hired on or after
January 1, 1978) and work performed on such days
shall be paid for at the rate of time and one-half the
regular straight-time hourly rate of pay.
In determining whether an employee’s work shift
is to be considered as falling on Saturday or Sunday,
for the purpose of premium pay, it is understood that
the meaning of Saturday or Sunday work shall be
the same as now applies or, where there is no such
practice, shall be based upon the holiday premium
pay practice.
The parties agree that where an Employer’s
normal business includes weekend operations,
the rationale for weekend premium pay may not
be present. Upon the RAB’s request, the Union
will consider whether operations at particular
locations warrant relief from the weekend premium
pay obligation, and if the Union agrees that the
circumstances warrant the relief, the Union and the
RAB may agree that weekend premium pay will not
be required.
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In newly constructed buildings, employees
whose regular shifts include work on Saturday and
Sunday shall not receive weekend premium pay for
work on those days. This shall not affect eligibility
for other premium pay for which the employees
might otherwise qualify, including not but limited to
overtime pay.
5. Any employees called in to work by the
Employer for any time not consecutive with their
regular schedules shall be paid for at least four (4)
hours of overtime.
6. Employees required to work overtime shall be
paid at least one hour at the overtime rate, except for
employees working overtime due to absenteeism or
lateness.
7. Any employee who has worked eight (8)
hours a day and is required to work at least four (4)
hours of overtime in that day shall be given a $15.00
meal allowance.
8. Any employee classified as “other” who
substitutes for an absent “foreperson” for more than
four (4) hours shall receive the “foreperson” wage
rate for the entire shift.
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Any employee who spends one full week or
more performing work in a higher paying category
shall receive the higher rate of pay for such service.
9. No overtime shall be given for disciplinary
purposes. An Employer shall not require an employee
to work an excessive amount of overtime.
10. The Employer agrees to use its best efforts
to provide a minimum of sixteen hours off between
shifts for its employees.
11. Each regularly assigned EAP Coordinator,
Fire Safety Director and Assistant and/or Deputy
Fire Safety Director, appointed by the Employer and
certified by the Fire Department, shall be paid one
lump-sum bonus of $500.00 per year on December 1
of each calendar year. This shall not include a relief
person or temporary replacement.
The Employer shall have the right to designate
the EAP Coordinator, Fire Safety Director and
Assistant and/or Deputy Fire Safety Director.
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ARTICLE XVIII
Superintendents
A. COVERAGE
This Article shall apply only to Commercial
Building Superintendents who were previously
covered by a collective bargaining agreement between
Local 164, Service Employees International Union,
and their Employer(s).
B. WAGES AND HOURS
Effective January 1, 2020, Superintendents
covered by the Agreement shall receive a $30.00
weekly wage increase.
Effective January 1, 2021, Superintendents
covered by the Agreement shall receive a $32.00
weekly wage increase.
Effective January 1, 2022, Superintendents
covered by the Agreement shall receive a $32.00
weekly wage increase.
Effective January 1, 2023, Superintendents
covered by the Agreement shall receive a $37.00
weekly wage increase.
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Minimum wage rates shall be increased
accordingly to reflect the above increases.
Cost of living increases, if any, granted to
employees under Article XVII of this Agreement
shall be granted to the Superintendents in the same
amounts and on the same effective date.
The Superintendent shall be entitled to two (2)
days off in each workweek, one of which shall be
Sunday, and any work performed on either of these
days shall be paid for at the rate of time and one-half
the regular straight-time rate for all hours worked.
Saturday shall continue to be a premium day and
any work performed on this day shall be paid for at
the rate of time and one-half the regular straight-time
hourly rate of pay.
C. WORKING CONDITIONS
1. Any replacement Superintendent shall receive
the contract wage, except where it includes extra pay
attributable to years of service, special competence or
special consideration beyond job requirements.
2. The Superintendent shall not be required to:
(a) renew cables on elevators or build block or
hollow tile walls,
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(b) run elevators except during relief period,
lunch period, and emergencies and except that in
any building employing three or less employees
during the daytime, exclusive of the Superintendent,
the Superintendent in such buildings shall do all the
duties which the Superintendent has heretofore been
accustomed to do,
(c) do any porter work except in a building
employing three employees or less during the
daytime, exclusive of the Superintendent, in which
case the Superintendent should continue to do work
the Superintendent has heretofore performed,
(d) perform work on a scaffold that is not
directly over a roof, setback, or within the building,
(e) perform work on the inside of any fuel oil,
pressure or hermetically sealed tank,
(f) build cutting tables, machine stands or
dress racks, or
(g) do any work that conflicts with State,
Federal or Municipal laws.
3. The Superintendent shall not be penalized
or discriminated against for attending arbitrations,
hearings or meetings, but this privilege shall not be
construed so as to interfere with the orderly operation
of the building.
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4. There may be added to the duties of the
Superintendent more or less miscellaneous and relief
work for which the Superintendent’s additional
compensation distinguishes such employee from
other classes of workers on the premises, subject to
the grievance and arbitration procedures provided
herein.
5. The Arbitrator may consider exceptional
cases in which the Union claims that excessive
work or the utilization of unique skills or painting is
required of the Superintendent and may relieve the
Superintendent of, or require additional compensation
for, such excessive work.
6. No Superintendents leaving their positions of
their own accord shall be entitled to accrued vacation
allowance unless they have given the Employer at
least thirty (30) days written termination notice.
7. The Union may question the propriety of
the termination of the Superintendent’s services and
demand such employee’s reinstatement or severance
pay, if any, as the case may be, by filing a grievance
under Article VII of this Agreement. The Arbitrator
shall give due consideration to the Superintendent’s
management responsibilities and to the need for
cooperation between the Superintendent and the
Employer.
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8. No provision of this Agreement shall be so
construed as to reduce the wages or lower the rate
of pay of the Superintendent or to lower or worsen
the terms or conditions of the Superintendent’s
employment. This provision shall not be construed
as to in any way prevent the exercise by the Employer
of its normal management prerogatives to make
changes in equipment, schedules, shifts, number of
employees and duties necessary and incident to the
operation, maintenance and servicing of the building
not inconsistent with the letter or the spirit of any
other specific provision of this Agreement.
9. Wherever a conflict may exist between the
2016 Commercial Building Agreement and terms of
this article, the terms of this article shall prevail.
ARTICLE XIX
Joint Industry Advancement Project
The Union and the RAB recognize that they have
a common interest in pursuing efforts that will promote
development and growth in the real estate industry, as
growth and development (1) create a favorable business
environment for real estate industry employers and
provide enhanced job opportunities; (2) strengthen
communities and New York City’s economy; and (3)
provide a path for a viable future for New York City.
The Union and the RAB agree to establish this Joint
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Industry Advancement Project to further their common
interest, upon the following terms:
1. The Project will be directed by ten (10)
directors, five (5) appointed by the Union and five (5)
appointed by the RAB. The board of directors shall
have two (2) co-chairs, one appointed by the Union
and one appointed by the RAB. The Directors may be
replaced at will by the respective appointing parties.
Each party may appoint alternate Directors.
2. The Board of Directors of the Project shall
meet at least quarterly, or more frequently if the
co-chairs so direct. No action may be taken by the
Project except upon unanimous consent. Voting shall
be by blocks, the five Union-appointed Directors
collectively shall cast one vote, and the five (5) RABappointed Directors collectively shall cast one vote.
3. The Project may hire employees and contract
for services, including accounting and legal services,
provided that no financial, contractual or other
obligation may be incurred by the Project except upon
a vote of the Directors, as provided in paragraph 2.
4. The Union and the RAB may contribute funds
and/or provide assistance to the Project upon such
terms as are agreed to jointly by the RAB and the
Union.
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5. The actions which the Project may undertake
shall include, without limitation, monitoring of and/
or involvement with issues of mutual interest to the
industry and Union in legislative, governmental or
regulatory forums, at the local, state or national level
(“Mutual Issues”) as well as education, research,
advertising, and/or publicity for the purpose of
enhancing development and growth of the real estate
industry. What is included in Mutual Issues shall be
discussed and defined by the parties. The parties may
add to or delete from the list of Mutual Issues from
time to time as they mutually agree.
6. Either in discussions among Directors of the
Project, or otherwise, the Union and the RAB commit
to disclosing in good faith their respective views and
positions on issues of importance to the real estate
industry or the Union.
7. The Union and the RAB agree that they shall
refrain, insofar as practicable and except as warranted
by a change of circumstances, from taking positions
on issues contrary to the positions taken by the Project.
8. To facilitate good faith coordination,
accountability and transparency on Mutual Issues, the
RAB directors and the Union directors, shall on an
annual basis, on or before January 31 of each year,
report in writing to each other as to the Mutual Issues
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they have worked on during the past year, whether
independently or together (the “JTAP Report”). The
parties shall exchange the parties’ respective JTAP
Reports prior to the first quarterly meeting of the year,
and shall review them together at that meeting, with
the goals being to identify better ways of working
together and transparently communicating with
each other, particularly where there are divergent
viewpoints. The JTAP Reports also shall be utilized
to set the Committee’s agenda for the coming year.
9. Neither party shall propose any legislation
or regulation (including without limitation any
amendment or revision to existing legislation or
regulation) on Mutual Issues to any governmental body
of any kind without having given written notice to the
other party of the concepts on which such legislation
or regulation is based (“Legislative Concepts”). Such
written notice shall disclose the material details of
the Legislative Concepts. The Union’s notice shall be
sent to the President of the RAB, The RAB’s notice
shall be sent to the President of the Union. The parties
shall discuss the Legislative Concepts at the parties’
next scheduled quarterly meeting or at a special
meeting which shall be requested at least thirty (30)
days before the legislation is transmitted, orally or in
writing, to any governmental body. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the parties intend that they will discuss
prospective Legislative Concepts before they decide
to transmit it to any governmental body in order that
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they may solicit and endeavor to accommodate the
views of the other party.
10. This Project may be terminated by either the
RAB or the Union on thirty (30) days notice to the
other party. Any assets or liabilities of the Project at
the time of termination shall be allocated equally to
the RAB and the Union.
ARTICLE XX
Terms of Agreement and Renewals
This Agreement shall be effective January 1,
2020 and shall continue in full force and effect up to
and including December 31, 2023.
With respect to Guards, this Agreement shall
be extended to April 30, 2024, but, except where
otherwise indicated, all economic terms negotiated
between the RAB and the Union in the successor
agreement to this contract shall be retroactive to
January 1, 2024, if the contract shall so provide, or
whatever date provided in the contract for all other
employees.
With respect to engineers and superintendents,
this agreement shall continue until February 1, 2024,
provided that in the event of a strike by the Union
upon the expiration of either the RAB Commercial
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Building Agreement or RAB Contractors Agreement
and prior to February 1, 2024, engineers shall not
assume or perform the duties of non-engineering
employees.
Upon the expiration date of this Agreement,
the same shall continue in full force and effect for
an extended period until a successor agreement has
been executed. During the extended period, all terms
and conditions shall be in effect and the parties shall
negotiate for a successor agreement retroactive to the
expiration date. All provisions and improvements in
such successor agreements shall be retroactive unless
such agreements shall otherwise provide.
In the event the parties are unable to agree upon
the terms of a successor Agreement, either party upon
three (3) days written notice to the other party may
cancel this agreement. Such cancellation shall not
apply to Article XV, for a period of six (6) months
after the expiration date of the contract.
Sixty (60) days before said expiration date, the
parties shall enter into direct negotiations looking
towards a renewal agreement.
If fifteen (15) days before this Agreement expires
the parties shall not have been able to agree upon the
terms of a new agreement, both parties will thereupon
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confer with the New York State Employment
Relations Board for the purpose of conciliating their
differences.
ARTICLE XXI
General Clauses
1. Differentials
Existing wage differentials among classes of
workers within a building shall be maintained. It is
recognized that wage differentials other than those
required herein may exist or arise because of wages
above the minima required by this Agreement. No
change in such differentials shall be considered a
violation of this Agreement unless it appears that
it results from an attempt to break down the wage
structure for the building.
Where employees possess considerable
mechanical or technical skill and devote more than
75% of their working time in the building to work
involving such skill, the wage rate shall be determined
by mutual agreement between the Employer and the
Union. Such employees shall receive a wage of not
less than ten ($10) dollars per week above the contract
minimum rate for a handyperson.
If the Employer and the Union cannot agree upon
the rate of pay of such employees, or in cases where an
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obvious inequity exists by reason of such employees’
regular application of specialized abilities in their
work, the amount or correctness of the differential may
be determined by grievance and/or arbitration.
Notwithstanding the above, it is understood that
licensed engineers covered under this Agreement
shall constitute a separate bargaining unit and receive
the same wages and benefits as paid to engineers
under the Realty Advisory Board (RAB) Agreement
covering licensed engineers in New York City except
that Pension, Health, Legal and Training Fund
contributions shall continue to be paid under the
terms of this Agreement.
2. Pyramiding
There shall be no pyramiding of overtime
pay, sick pay, holiday pay or any other premium
pay. If more than one of the aforesaid are applicable,
compensation shall be computed on the basis giving
the greatest amount.
3. Holidays
The following are the recognized contract
holidays:
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CONTRACT
HOLIDAYS 2020 2021 2022 2023
New Year Jan. 1 Jan. 1 Dec. 31 Jan. 2
Wed. Friday Friday Monday
Presidents Day Feb. 17 Feb. 15 Feb. 21 Feb. 20
Monday Monday Monday Monday
Good Friday April 10 April 2 April 15 April 7
Friday Friday Friday Friday
Memorial Day May 25 May 31 May 30 May 29
Monday Monday Monday Monday
Independence Day July 3 July 5 July 4 July 4
Friday Monday Monday Tuesday
Labor Day Sept. 7 Sept. 6 Sept. 5 Sept. 4
Monday Monday Monday Monday
Columbus Day Oct. 12 Oct. 11 Oct. 10 Oct. 9
Monday Monday Monday Monday
Thanksgiving Day Nov. 26 Nov. 25 Nov. 24 Nov. 23
Thurs. Thurs. Thurs. Thurs.
Day after Thanksgiving Nov. 27 Nov. 26 Nov. 25 Nov. 24
Friday Friday Friday Friday
Christmas Day Dec. 25 Dec. 24 Dec. 26 Dec. 25
Friday Friday Monday Monday
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ELECTIVE
HOLIDAYS 2020 2021 2022 2023
Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day Jan. 20 Jan. 18 Jan. 17 Jan. 16
Monday Monday Monday Monday
Eid al-Fitr May 24 May 13 May 3 April 22
Sunday Thurs. Tues. Sat.
Yom Kippur Sept. 28 Sept. 16 Oct. 5 Sept. 25
Monday Thurs. Wed. Monday
September 11 Sept. 11 Sept. 11 Sept. 11 Sept. 11
Friday Sat. Sunday Monday
Veterans Day Nov. 11 Nov. 11 Nov. 11 Nov. 11
Wed. Thurs. Friday Sat.
There shall be one additional holiday in each
contract year, which shall be Martin Luther King
Day, Eid al-Fitr, Yom Kippur, September 11 (Day of
Remembrance), or Veterans Day, or a personal day at
the option of the employee. Effective for holidays in
calendar year 2021 and following, an Employer may
treat Martin Luther King Day as a contract holiday
and instead designate Columbus Day as an elective
holiday. The Employer may choose to designate
Martin Luther King Day as a contract holiday by
providing written notice to the Union by December
31 for the following calendar year. The personal day
shall be scheduled in accordance with paragraphs (3)
and (4) below.
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In buildings where the major occupants are
operating on Good Friday and/or the day after
Thanksgiving, Lincoln’s Birthday and/or Veterans
Day may be substituted for such days provided notice
is given to the Union and the RAB on or before March
1 of each year.
The Employer shall post a holiday schedule
on the bulletin board and it shall remain posted
throughout the year.
Presidents Day, Good Friday, Columbus Day
and the day after Thanksgiving may be treated as
personal days rather than fixed holidays under the
following conditions:
(1) Prior to February 1 each year, each building
may designate one or more such days as a personal day
upon written notice to the Union and the employees.
Failure to so designate shall be deemed agreement to
leave such days as fixed holidays.
(2) Each building designating such days as
personal days may upon thirty (30) days written
notice to the Union and the employees, change
such designation and make the day a fixed holiday.
Employees who have received a personal day for such
holiday shall be employed on such holiday at time and
one-half.
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(3) Employees entitled to personal days may
select such day or days off on five (5) days notice to
the Employer provided such selection does not result
in a reduction of employees in the building below
75% of the normal work staff. Such selection shall be
made in accordance with seniority.
(4) Employees entitled to personal days who do
not use such day or days in a calendar year must use
such day or days off during the first six months of the
following year provided, however, that the Employer
informs in writing both the employee and the Union
by January 31 of such succeeding year that such days
are available and will be lost if not used prior to July
1 of that year.
Employees shall receive their regular straighttime hourly rates for the normal eight (8) hour
working day not worked, and if required to work on
a holiday, shall receive in addition to the pay above
mentioned, premium pay at the rate of time and onehalf their regular straight-time hourly rate of pay for
each hour worked, with a minimum of four (4) hours
premium pay. Any employee who is required to work
on a holiday beyond eight (8) hours shall continue to
receive the compensation above provided for holiday
work, namely pay at the regular straight-time rate plus
premium pay at time and one-half the regular straighttime rate. Any regular full-time employee ill in any
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payroll week in which a holiday falls is entitled to
holiday pay or corresponding time off (meaning one
day) if such employee worked at least one day during
the said payroll week.
Any regular full-time employee whose regular
day off, or one of whose regular days off falls on
a holiday, shall receive an additional day’s pay
therefore, or, at the option of the Employer, an
extra workday off within ten (10) days immediately
preceding or succeeding the holiday. If the employee
receives the extra day off before the holiday and such
employee’s employment is terminated for any reason
whatever, such employee shall not be required to
compensate the Employer for that day.
4. Voting Time
Any employee who is required to work on
Election Day and gives legal notice shall be allowed
two (2) hours off, such hours to be designated by the
Employer, while the polls are open.
5. Personal Day
All employees shall receive a personal day in
each contract year. This personal day is in addition
to the holidays listed in paragraph 3 above. The
personal day shall be scheduled in accordance with
the following provision:
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Employees may select such day off on five (5)
days notice to the Employer provided such selection
does not result in a reduction of employees in the
building below 75% of the normal work staff. Such
selection shall be made in accordance with seniority.
6. Schedules
Overtime and premium work shall be evenly
distributed so far as is compatible with the efficient
operation of the building, except where Saturday or
Sunday is a regular part of the workweek. Preference
for premium work shall be given to the regular fulltime employees of the building.
7. Relief Employees
Relief or part-time employees shall be paid the
same hourly rate as full-time employees in the same
occupational classification.
8. Method of Payment of Wages
All wages, including overtime, shall be paid
weekly in cash or by check, with an itemized
statement of payroll deductions.
If a regular payday falls on a holiday, employees
shall be paid on the day before.
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Employees paid by check who work during
regular banking hours shall be given reasonable
time to cash their checks exclusive of their break
and lunch period. The Employer shall make suitable
arrangements at a convenient bank for such check
cashing.
In the event an Employer’s check to an employee
for wages is returned due to insufficient funds on a
bona fide basis twice within a year’s period, the
Employer shall be required to pay all employees by
cash or certified check.
The Employer may require, at no cost to the
employee, that an employee’s check be electronically
deposited at the employee’s designated bank or a
paycheck card may be utilized. The Union shall be
notified by the Employer of this arrangement.
The Union recognizes that certain employees
and Employers desire to utilize a bi-weekly payroll
schedule. Employers recognize that bi-weekly pay
may create hardships for certain employees. The
parties have previously agreed to create an industrywide committee to study the bi-weekly pay issue.
The industry-wide committee is now authorized to
conduct pilot programs instituting bi-weekly pay at
any selected site(s) where the Union and the Employer
agree to institute bi-weekly pay.
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9. Seniority and Layoff
For purposes of layoff and recall, all employees
covered by this Agreement shall be placed on building
seniority lists based upon their date of employment in
the building and department or job classification.
In the event of layoff due to reduction of force,
the inverse order of departmental or job classification
seniority shall be followed, except as provided
in Termination Pay, General Clause 21, with due
consideration for efficiency and special needs of a
department.
In the event that an employee is assigned to
another job classification and there is a reduction
in force in that department or job classification,
the employee shall have the right to exercise total
building seniority to return to such employee’s former
department or job classification.
Nothing contained in this section shall be
construed in such a manner as to permit an employee
to bump a less senior employee working for another
Employer in the same building.
For all other purposes, seniority of an employee
shall be based upon total length of service with the
Employer or in the building, whichever is greater. The
seniority date for all positions under the agreement
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shall be the date the employee commenced working
in the building for the agent and/or owner regardless
of whether there is a collective bargaining agreement
and regardless of the type of work performed by the
employee.
10. Replacement, Promotions, Vacancies,
Trial Periods, and Newly Hired Employees
(a) In filling vacancies or newly created positions
in the bargaining unit, preference shall be given to
those employees already employed in the building,
based upon the employee’s seniority, but training,
ability and appearance, where required, shall also be
considered.
All vacancies and newly created positions shall
be subject to a posting in the respective building for
a period of seven (7) calendar days so that bargaining
unit employees can express an interest in filling the
position. In buildings where the Employer employs
fifteen (15) or more employees, if the filling of the
initially posted vacancy or newly created position
causes another vacancy, that vacancy shall be
subject to a posting in the respective building. Any
subsequent vacancy caused by the filling of a posted
position shall not be required to be posted before
being filled.
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Nothing contained in this section shall be
construed in such a manner as to entitle an employee
to fill a vacancy or newly created position with
another Employer in the same building.
Anyone employed as a vacation replacement,
extra or contingent with substantial regularity for
a period of four (4) months or more shall receive
preference for steady employment. If a present
employee cannot fill the job vacancy, the Employer
must fill the vacancy in accordance with the other
terms of this collective bargaining agreement.
In the event that a new classification is created
in a building, the Employer shall negotiate with the
Union a wage rate for that classification.
There shall be a trial period for all newly hired
employees for sixty (60) calendar days.
(b) A New Hire employed in the “Guard” or
“Other” category shall be paid seventy-five percent
(75%) of the applicable minimum regular hourly
wage rate for the first twenty-one (21) months of
employment. Such employees shall be paid eightyfive percent (85%) of the applicable minimum regular
hourly wage rate for the twenty-second (22nd) through
forty-second (42nd) months of employment. Upon
completion of forty-two (42) months of employment,
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such employees shall be paid the full minimum wage
rate. For purposes of this provision, twenty-one (21)
months of employment and forty-two (42) months
of employment shall include each month (counting
portions of a month in excess of fifteen (15) days as
a full month but excluding employment as a vacation
relief unless such vacation relief work immediately
precedes permanent hire as noted in Section 13(b)
below) that a New Hire worked in the Industry during
the twenty-four (24) months immediately preceding
the date of hire by the current employer.
Any employee who was employed in the
Industry as of February 3, 1996 shall be considered
an “Experienced Employee.” An Experienced
Employee shall receive the full minimum rate of pay
from the date of hire.
There shall be no Employer contributions to the
Building Service Pension Fund on behalf of any New
Hire employed in the category of “Guard” or “Other”
during the first year of employment. Employer
contributions for employees described above shall be
required commencing on the first day of the month
following the employee’s completion of twelve (12)
calendar months of employment with the Employer,
less the number of calendar months (counting
portions of a month in excess of fifteen (15) days
as a full month) worked in the Industry during the
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preceding two (2) years (excluding employment as
a vacation relief unless such vacation relief work
immediately precedes permanent hire as noted in
Section 13(b) below).
There shall be no Employer contributions to
the Supplemental Retirement and Savings Fund on
behalf of any New Hire employed in the category of
“Guard” or “Other” during the first two (2) years of
employment. Employer contributions for employees
described above shall be required commencing on
the first day of the month following the employee’s
completion of twenty-four (24) calendar months of
employment with the Employer, less the number of
calendar months (counting portions of a month in
excess of fifteen (15) days as a full month) worked
in the Industry during the preceding two (2) years
(excluding employment as a vacation relief unless
such vacation relief work immediately precedes
permanent hire as noted in Section 13(b) below).
Contributions to the Building Service Pension
Fund and Supplemental Retirement and Savings Fund
shall commence after three (3) months of employment
for employees hired in job categories other than
“Guard” and “Other” and Experienced Employees
(those employed in the Industry as of February 3,
1996).
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No experienced employee may be terminated or
denied employment for the purpose of discrimination
on the basis of such employee’s compensation
and/or benefits. The Union may grieve such
discrimination in accordance with the grievance and
arbitration provisions of the Agreement (Article VII
and Article VIII).
If the arbitrator determines an experienced
employee has been terminated or denied employment
because of such discrimination, the arbitrator shall:
(1) In case of termination—reinstate the
experienced employee with full back pay and all
benefits retroactive to date of experienced employee’s
discharge.
(2) In case of failure to hire—if the arbitrator
determines that an experienced employee was not
given preference for employment absent good cause,
the arbitrator shall direct the employer to hire the
experienced employee with full back pay and benefits
retroactive to date of denial of hire.
11. Recall
Any employee who has been employed for one
(1) year or more in the same building and who is laid
off, shall have the right of recall, provided that the
period of layoff of such employee does not exceed
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six (6) months. Recall rights apply to all vacant,
permanent positions and temporary positions if it is
expected that the temporary position will last for a
period of at least sixty (60) days. Recall shall be in
the reverse order of laid-off employees’ departmental
seniority. The Employer shall notify the last qualified
laid-off employee of any job vacancy by certified
mail, return receipt requested, at such employee’s
last known address, of any job vacancy. A copy of
this notice shall be sent to the Union. The employee
shall then be given seven (7) days from the date of
mailing of the letter in which to express in person
or by registered or certified mail a desire to accept
the available job. In the event any employee does
not accept recall, successive notice shall be sent
to qualified employees until the list of qualified
employees is exhausted. Upon reemployment,
full seniority status, less period of layoff, shall
be credited to the employee. Any employee who
received termination pay and is subsequently rehired
shall retain said termination pay and for purpose of
future termination pay shall receive the difference
between what the employee has received and what the
employee is entitled to if terminated at a future date.
Any vacation monies paid shall be credited to the
Employer against the current vacation entitlement.
Further, in the event an Employer or agent has a job
vacancy in a building where there are no qualified
employees on layoff status, the Employer or agent
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shall use its best efforts to fill the job vacancy from
qualified employees of the Employer or agent who are
on layoff status from other buildings.
12. Leave of Absence and Pregnancy Leave
(a) Once during the term of this Agreement,
upon written application to the Employer and the
Union, a regular employee who works five (5) days
per week and at least five (5) hours per day and has
been employed in the building for five (5) years or
more shall be granted a leave of absence for illness or
injury not to exceed six (6) months.
The leave of absence outlined above is subject to
an extension not exceeding six (6) months in the case
of bona fide inability to work whether or not covered
by the New York State Workers’ Compensation Law
or New York State Disability Benefits Law. When
such employee is physically and mentally able to
resume work, that employee shall on one (1) week
prior written notice to the Employer be then reemployed with no seniority loss.
In cases involving on-the-job injuries,
employees who are on medical leave for more than
one year may be entitled to return to their jobs if there
is good cause shown.
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(b) Once during the term of this Agreement, upon
written application to the Employer and the Union,
a regular employee who works five (5) days per
week and at least five (5) hours per day and has been
employed in the building for two (2) years but less
than five (5) years shall be granted a leave of absence
for illness or injury not to exceed one hundred twenty
(120) days. When such employee is physically and
mentally able to resume work, that employee shall on
one (1) week prior written notice to the Employer be
then re-employed with no seniority loss.
(c) Any employee on leave due to workers’
compensation or disability shall continue to be
covered for health benefits without the necessity of
payment by the Employer in accordance with Article
XI Paragraph A, Sub-paragraph 1.
(d) In cases of pregnancy, it shall be treated
as any other disability suffered by an employee in
accordance with applicable law.
(e) In buildings where there are more than three
(3) employees, an employee shall be entitled to a
four-week leave of absence without pay for paternity/
maternity leave. The leave must be taken immediately
following the birth or adoption of the child.
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(f) Once every five (5) years upon six (6) weeks
written application to the Employer, a regular employee
who works five (5) days per week and at least five (5)
hours per day and has been employed at the building
for five (5) years or more shall be granted a leave of
absence for personal reasons not to exceed four (4)
months. Upon returning to work, the employee shall
be re-employed with no loss of seniority.
Any employee requesting a personal leave of
absence shall be covered for health benefits during the
period of the leave provided the employee requests
health coverage while on leave of absence and pays
the Employer in advance for the cost of same.
Any time limitation with regard to the six (6)
weeks written application shall be waived in cases
where an emergency leave of absence is required.
(g) Employers shall provide family leave in
accordance with the coverage and requirements of
the NYS Paid Family Leave (“NYSPFL”) Law. Any
Employer who is required by law to comply with
the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA) shall comply with the requirements of said
act. All leaves of absence under paragraphs (a), (b),
(d) and (e) of this Section will run concurrently with
applicable FMLA leave, applicable NYSPFL leave
and/or applicable State or City law leave requirements.
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(h) The RAB will encourage its members to
cooperate in granting leaves of absence for Union
business.
13. Vacations and Vacation Relief Employees
(a) Every employee with substantial continuity
in any building or by the same Employer shall receive
each year a vacation with pay, as follows:
Employees who have worked:
6 Months …………………………………. 3 working days
1 Year ………………………………………………. 2 weeks
5 Years …………………………………………….. 3 weeks
15 Years ……………………………………………. 4 weeks
21 Years ………………………………….21 working days
22 Years ………………………………….22 working days
23 Years ………………………………….23 working days
24 Years ………………………………….24 working days
25 Years ……………………………………………. 5 weeks
Length of employment for vacation shall be
based upon the amount of vacation an employee
would be entitled to on September 15th of the year in
which the vacation is given, subject to grievance and
arbitration where the result is unreasonable.
Regularly employed part-time employees shall
receive proportionate vacation allowances based
on the average number of hours per week they are
employed.
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Firepersons who have worked substantially one
(1) firing season in the same building or for the same
Employer, when laid off, shall be paid at least three
(3) days’ wages in lieu of vacation.
Firepersons who have been employed more
than one (1) full firing season in the same building or
by the same Employer shall be considered full-time
employees in computing vacation.
Regular days off and contract holidays falling
during the vacation period shall not be counted. If a
contract holiday falls during the employee’s vacation
period, the employee shall receive an additional day’s
pay therefore, or, at the Employer’s option, an extra
day off within ten (10) days immediately preceding or
succeeding the vacation.
Vacation wages shall be paid prior to the
vacation period unless otherwise requested by the
employee, who is entitled to actual vacation and who
cannot instead be required to accept money.
Any Employer who fails to pay vacation pay in
accordance with this provision where the vacation has
been regularly scheduled shall pay an additional two
(2) days pay for each vacation week due at that time.
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When compatible with the proper operation
of the building, choice of vacation periods shall be
according to building seniority and confined to the
period beginning April 1st and ending September 15th
of each year. These dates may be changed and the
third vacation week may be taken at a separate time
by mutual agreement of the Employer and employee.
The fourth and fifth week of vacation may, at the
Employer’s option, be scheduled, upon two (2) weeks
notice to the employee, for a week or two weeks other
than the period when such employee takes the rest of
the employee’s vacation.
Any employee leaving employment for any
reason, shall be entitled to vacation accrual allowance
computed on such employee’s length of service
as provided in the vacation schedule based on the
elapsed period from the previous September 16th (or
from the date of employment if later employed) to the
date of such employee’s leaving. Any employee who
has received a vacation during the previous vacation
period (April 1st through September 15th) and who
leaves employment during the next vacation period
under circumstances which entitle such employee
to vacation accrual rights, shall be entitled to full
vacation accrual allowances instead of on the basis
of the elapsed period from the previous September
16th. Any employee who has received no vacation
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and has worked at least six (6) months before leaving
employment shall be entitled to vacation allowance
equal to the vacation allowance provided above.
No employee leaving a position voluntarily shall
be entitled to accrued vacation unless such employee
gives five (5) working days termination notice.
Any Employer assuming this Agreement shall
be responsible for payment of vacation pay and
granting of vacations required under this Agreement
which may have accrued prior to the Employer taking
over the building less any amounts paid or given for
that vacation year. In the event that the Employer
terminates its Employer-employee relationship under
this agreement and the successor Employer does not
have an agreement with the Union providing for at
least the same vacation benefits, the Employer shall
be responsible for all accrued vacation benefits.
(b) A person hired solely for the purpose of
relieving employees for vacation shall be paid 60%
of the minimum applicable regular hourly wage rate.
Should a vacation relief employee continue to be
employed beyond five (5) months, such employee
shall be paid the wage rate of a new hire or experienced
person as the case may be. If a vacation replacement
is hired for a permanent position immediately after
working as a vacation replacement, such employee
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shall be credited with time worked as a vacation
replacement toward completion of the forty-two (42)
month period required to achieve the full rate of pay
under the “New Hires” provision.
In the event that the arbitrator finds that an
Employer is using this rate as a subterfuge, such
arbitrator may, among other remedies, award full
pay from the date of employment at the applicable
hiring rate.
No contribution to any Benefit Funds shall be
made for a vacation relief person. Vacation relief
persons are not eligible for 32BJ Benefit Fund
coverage.
14. Day of Rest
Each employee shall receive at least one (1) full
day of rest in every seven (7) days.
15. Uniforms and Other Apparel
Uniforms and work clothes where they have
been required by the Employer or where necessary
for the job shall be supplied and maintained by the
Employer. All uniforms shall be appropriate for the
season.
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It is understood that where the Employer does
not require uniforms, the employees shall be free to
wear suitable clothing of their choice. Employees
doing outside work shall be furnished adequate
wearing apparel for the purpose.
In buildings of 500,000 square feet or more, the
Employer shall be required to furnish uniforms and
work clothes.
16. First Aid Kit
An adequate and complete first aid kit shall be
supplied and maintained by the Employer in a place
readily available to all employees.
17. Fire and Flood Call
Employees on fire and/or flood call shall be
reimbursed for all loss of personal effects incurred in
the line of duty.
18. Eye Glasses and Union Insignia
Employees may wear eye glasses and the Union
insignia while on duty.
19. Bulletin Board
A bulletin board shall be furnished by the
Employer exclusively for Union announcements and
notices of meetings.
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20. Sanitary Arrangements
Adequate sanitary arrangements shall be
maintained in every building, and individual locker
and key thereto and rest room key where rest room
is provided, and soap, towels and washing facilities,
shall be furnished by the Employer for all employees.
The rest room and locker room shall be for use of
employees servicing and maintaining the building.
21. Termination Pay
(a) In case of termination of employment because
of the employee’s physical or mental inability to
perform the employee’s duties, or from reduction in
force occurring for reasons other than conversion of
elevators to automatic operations, such employee shall
receive, in addition to accrued vacation, termination
pay according to years of service in the building or
with the same owner, whichever is greater, as follows:
Employees with Pay:
5 but less than 10 years ………………..1 week wages
10 but less than 12 years ………………… 2 weeks wages
12 but less than 15 years ………………… 3 weeks wages
15 but less than 17 years ………………… 6 weeks wages
17 but less than 20 years ………………… 7 weeks wages
20 but less than 25 years ………………… 8 weeks wages
25 or more …………………………………10 weeks wages
An employee physically or mentally unable
to perform the employee’s duties may resign and
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receive the above termination pay if the employee
submits a valid certification from the Social Security
Administration relating back to the date such employee
ceases working because of the certified disability.
(b) In case of termination of employment
because of conversion of elevators to automatic
operation, the employee shall receive, in addition to
accrued vacation, termination pay according to years
of service in the building or with the same Employer,
whichever is greater, as follows:
Employees with Pay:
5 but less than 10 years ……………….2 weeks wages
10 but less than 12 years ……………..4 weeks wages
12 but less than 15 years ……………..5 weeks wages
15 but less than 17 years ………………7 weeks wages
17 but less than 20 years ……………..8 weeks wages
20 but less than 22 years ……………..9 weeks wages
22 but less than 25 years …………… 10 weeks wages
25 or more ……………………………. 11 weeks wages
(c) The right to accept termination pay and
resign where there has been a reduction in force shall
be determined by seniority, i.e., termination pay shall
be offered to the most senior employee, then to the
next most senior employee, and so on until accepted.
If no employee accepts the offer, the least senior
employee or employees shall be terminated and shall
receive any applicable termination pay.
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(d) “Week’s pay” in the above paragraphs
means the regular straight-time weekly pay at the
time of termination. If the Employer offers part-time
employment to the employee entitled to termination
pay for the period of such employee’s full-time
employment, and if the employee accepts such parttime employment, such employee shall be considered
a new employee for seniority purposes. Where an
employee was placed on a part-time basis or suffered a
pay reduction because of a change in such employee’s
work category prior to February 1, 1966, and did not
receive termination pay based upon such employee’s
former pay, “week’s pay” shall be determined by
agreement, or through grievance and arbitration.
(e) Any employee accepting termination pay
who is rehired in the same building or with the same
Employer shall be considered a new employee for all
purposes except as provided in the Recall clause.
For the purposes of this section, sale or transfer
of a building shall not be considered a termination of
employment so long as the employee or employees
are hired by the purchaser or transferee, in which
case they shall retain their building seniority for all
purposes.
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22. Tools, Permits, Fines and Legal Assistance
All tools, of which the Superintendent shall
keep an accurate inventory, shall be supplied by the
Employer. The Employer shall continue to maintain
and replace any special tools or tools damaged
during ordinary performance of work but shall not be
obligated to replace “regular” tools if lost or stolen.
The Employer shall bear the expense of securing
or renewing permits, licenses or certificates for specific
equipment located on the Employer’s premises, and
will pay fines and employees’ applicable wages for
required time spent for the violation of any codes,
ordinances, administrative regulations or statutes,
except any resulting from the employees’ gross
negligence or willful disobedience.
The Employer shall supply legal assistance
where required to employees who are served with
summons regarding building violations.
23. Military Service
All statutes and valid regulations about
reinstatement and employment of veterans shall be
observed.
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The Employers and the Union will cooperate
in effort to achieve the objectives of this provision.
They shall also consider the institution of plans to
provide training of employees to improve their skills
and to enter into employment in the industry.
24. No Discrimination
(A) There shall be no discrimination against any
present or future employee by reason of race, creed,
color, age, disability, national origin, sex, union
membership, sexual orientation, or any characteristic
protected by law, including, but not limited to,
claims made pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act, the New York
State Human Rights Law, the New York City Human
Rights Code, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the Family and
Medical Leave Act, or any other similar laws, rules
or regulations. All such claims shall be subject to the
grievance and arbitration procedure (Articles VII and
VIII) as the sole and exclusive remedy for violations.
Arbitrators shall apply appropriate law in rendering
decisions based upon claims of discrimination.
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(B) No-Discrimination Protocol
(1) Protocol1
The parties to this Agreement, the Union
and RAB, believe that it is in the best interests of
all involved – employees, members of the Union,
employers, the Union, the RAB and the public
interest – to promptly, fairly, and efficiently resolve
claims of workplace discrimination, harassment and
retaliation as covered in the No Discrimination Clause
of the relevant collective bargaining agreement
(collectively, “Covered Claims”).
Such Covered Claims are very often intertwined
with other contractual disputes under this Agreement.
The RAB, on behalf of its members, maintains that it
is committed to refrain from unlawful discrimination,
harassment and retaliation. The Union maintains it will
pursue its policy of evaluating such Covered Claims
and bringing those Covered Claims to arbitration
where appropriate. To this end, the parties establish
the following system of mediation and arbitration
applicable to all such Covered Claims, whenever they
arise. The Union and RAB want those covered by this
Agreement and any individual attorneys representing
them to be aware of this Protocol.
1 The parties intend this provision to apply to all collective bargaining agreements
between them superseding the Protocol language first incorporated in the 2012
Commercial Building CBA and subsequently updated CBAs.
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(2) Mediation
(a) Whenever a Covered Claim is brought
alleging that an employer has violated the No
Discrimination Clause (including, without limitation,
claims based on a statute relating to workplace equal
opportunities), whether such a Covered Claim is
made by the Union or by an individual employee,
notice shall be provided by the party seeking to utilize
this Protocol of such a Covered Claim (“Notice of
Claim”) to the other Parties (for purposes of this
section, “Parties” shall be defined as the Union, the
RAB, the Employer, and the affected employee(s)),
and the matter shall be submitted to mediation, absent
prior resolution through informal means. A Notice of
Claim shall be filed within the applicable statutory
statute of limitations, provided that if an employee
has timely filed such Covered Claim in a forum
provided for by statute, it will not be considered timebarred. The Notice of Claim must be filed with the
administrator of the Office of the Contract Arbitrator
(“OCA”), which currently has an address of 370
Seventh Avenue, Suite 301, New York, NY 10001.
(b) Promptly following receipt of the Notice
of Claim, the administrator of OCA shall appoint a
Mediator from the Mediation Panel described below.
All mediators on the panel shall be attorneys with
appropriate training and experience in the conduct of
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mediations and significant knowledge of employment
discrimination statutes. The Mediation Panel shall
be a distinct panel from the Contract Arbitrator
Panel (see 2018 Apartment Building CBA, Article
VI, Paragraph 8). A person listed on the Mediation
Panel will be removed when either the Union or the
RAB gives notice to the other party that such person’s
name shall be removed. A person may be added to the
Mediation Panel list upon mutual agreement of the
Union and the RAB. The Union and RAB mutually
commit to appointing mediators with appropriate
skill and experience, as they view mediation as the
important step through which many Covered Claims
will be resolved.
(c) OCA shall appoint a Mediator from the
Mediation Panel. Such appointments shall be made
by a random selection (e.g. “spinning the wheel”) of
available panel members.
(d) Within 30 days of being appointed, the
Mediator shall notify the Parties of the appointment
and schedule a pre-mediation conference (for the
purposes of this Paragraph and the remainder of
this section, “Parties” refers to the bargaining unit
member or Union asserting the Covered Claim,
and the respondent/defendant employer and the
RAB). At the conference, the Parties shall discuss
such matters as they deem relevant to the mediation
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process, including discovery. The Mediator shall
have the authority, after consulting with the Parties,
to (1) schedule dates for the exchange of information
and position statements prior to a mediation, and
(2) schedule a date for mediation. Any disputes
relating to the issues to be mediated, the exchange
of information and position statements, and the
date, place, and time of the mediation and any inperson, telephonic, or other meetings relating to the
mediation shall be decided by the Mediator. In the
event the Mediator concludes that there has not been
good faith compliance with a directive, including
directives as to the holding of conferences and the
conduct of discovery, the Mediator may, after notice
and an opportunity to be heard, order appropriate
remedies, including monetary and other sanctions.
Such remedies and sanctions may be considered
by the arbitrator in a subsequent proceeding in the
arbitrator’s discretion.
(e) The entire mediation process, including
any settlement terms proposed by the Mediator, is
a compromise negotiation for the purposes of the
Federal Rules of Evidence and the New York rules
of evidence.
(f) At the mediation, each Party shall be entitled
to present witnesses and/or documentary evidence.
The Mediator shall be entitled to meet separately with
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each Party for the purpose of exploring settlement.
(g) At the conclusion of the mediation, the
Mediator shall recommend settlement terms to the
Parties on request of any Party. Neither Party shall be
required to accept such a proposal.
(h) Mediation shall be completed before the
Covered Claim is arbitrated on the merits. However,
if the Union alleges the Covered Claim of a violation
of the No Discrimination Clause, the Union may
proceed directly to arbitration without Mediation if it
so chooses.
(i) The fees of the Mediator shall be split equally
between the Union and the RAB. The Union and
RAB shall provide language interpreters at their
jointly shared cost.
(3) Arbitration
(a) The undertakings described here with respect
to arbitration apply to those circumstances in which
the Union has declined to arbitrate an employee’s
individual employment discrimination claim under
the No Discrimination Clause of the CBA, including
statutory claims (i.e., a Covered Claim), to arbitration.
The arbitration forum described here will be available
to employers and employees, both those who are
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represented by counsel and those who are not
represented by counsel.
(b) The Union and the RAB have received and
vetted from the American Arbitration Association
(“AAA”) a list of arbitrators who (1) are attorneys, and
(2) are designated by the AAA to decide employment
discrimination cases. In the event that arbitration of
a Covered Claim based on statutory discrimination
in the circumstances described in paragraph A
is sought by these parties, the list of arbitrators
provided by the AAA shall be made available to the
individual employee and the RAB member employer
by the administrator of OCA. The manner by which
selection is made by the RAB member employer and
the individual employee and the extent to which each
shall bear responsibility for the costs of the arbitrator
shall be decided between them. A person may be
added to or removed from the Statutory Arbitration
Panel list upon mutual agreement of the Union and
the RAB. Any such arbitration shall be conducted
pursuant to the AAA National Rules for Employment
Disputes and any disputes about the manner of
proceeding or the interpretation of this Protocol or the
AAA Rules shall be decided by the arbitrator selected.
(c) The hearings in any such arbitration may
be held at the OCA offices without charge to the
parties; however, it is understood that OCA shall not
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be a forum for the determination of the dispute as
provided for in the collective bargaining agreement,
but, instead, will provide only the services set out in
section (3) of this Protocol.
(d) Neither the Union nor the RAB will be a
party to the arbitration described in this section (3)
and the arbitrator shall not have authority to award
relief that would require amendment of the CBA or
other agreement(s) between the Union and the RAB
or conflict with any provision of any CBAs or such
other agreement(s). Any mediation and/or arbitration
outcome shall have no precedential value with respect
to the interpretation of the CBAs or other agreement(s)
between the Union and the RAB.
(4) Mandatory Written Notification Before
Union Members Attempt to Bring Any Covered
Claim in Court, and Remedies for Failure to Provide
Notice
(a) The RAB and the Union have established
the foregoing Protocol to provide interested parties a
means to rapidly resolve or hear on the merits Covered
Claims fairly. To make this system most effective,
it is a mandatory prerequisite before any bargaining
unit member attempts to file a Covered Claim in any
court that the bargaining unit member (personally or
through bargaining unit member’s attorney) notify in
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writing the RAB and the Employer that the Employee
is attempting to bypass the Protocol process. The
notice required by this section (the “Bypass Notice”)
shall specify the Covered Claim(s) alleged with
sufficient detail, the court where the action is to be
filed, and the reason(s) for attempting to bypass the
Protocol process.
(b) A copy of the Bypass Notice must be sent to:
(a) the Employer and (b) the Realty Advisory Board
on Labor Relations, Inc., One Penn Plaza, Suite 2110,
New York, NY 10119.
(c) Absent compelling good cause, the Bypass
Notice must be mailed by first-class certified mail,
return receipt requested at least 60 days before the
bargaining unit member plans to commence a lawsuit
in any court.
(d) Providing the Bypass Notice is a condition
precedent prior to bringing a Covered Claim in any
forum.
(e) Nothing contained in this Protocol will limit
an employer or the RAB’s remedies in the event of a
breach of the Protocol or the CBA by an individual
asserting a Covered Claim.
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(C) (1) The parties hereby reaffirm the parties’
longstanding mutual commitment to prevent
harassment and discrimination in the workplace,
including discrimination based on sex, gender, race,
age, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender
identity, and any other legally protected categories.
To that end, and in effort to implement the parties’
commitment, the parties mandate that the Diversity
and Respect Committee (the “Committee”) meet
to discuss the prevention of discrimination and
harassment in the commercial building workplace,
including through training of employees to prevent
sexual and other forms of harassment, discrimination
and retaliation in the workplace, and the elimination
of adverse treatment that is the product of bias,
whether conscious or unconscious. The parties intend
that the training shall be no less extensive than that
required by law (see, e.g., the New York State law on
training and other anti-sexual harassment measures).
The parties recommend to the Trustees of the Thomas
Shortman Training, Scholarship and Safety Fund (the
“Fund”) that Fund staff and the Fund’s Curriculum
Committee develop and provide anti-harassment, antidiscrimination, anti-bias and anti-retaliation training,
including training related to third-party conduct. Such
training may be coordinated with the Fund’s existing
course offerings. The parties recognize that other
entities – in addition to the Fund – will be engaged
to provide this training. The parties intend that the
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curriculum and materials developed by the Fund be
made available to such other entities.
(2) The parties will continue the Committee’s
work: (i) to study recruitment and retention issues
for all under-represented groups, and (ii) to seek the
continued prevention of sexual harassment in the
commercial industry.
25. Placement/Employment Agency Fee
No employee shall be employed through a feecharging agency unless the Employer pays the full fee.
In the event the Union shall establish a Hiring
Hall, upon sixty (60) days written notice to the RAB,
the foregoing paragraph shall be replaced with the
following paragraph:
The Employer agrees that in the event it
shall require employees in the classifications of
employment covered by the Agreement, it shall hire
such employees from a Hiring Hall operated by the
Union. The Hiring Hall shall refer only qualified
applicants on the basis of their total industry wide
seniority. In the event the Hiring Hall is unable to
supply satisfactory applicants to the Employer within
three (3) working days following the request, the
Employer shall be free to hire in the open market.
The facilities of the Hiring Hall operated by the
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Union shall be made available to both members and
non-members of the Union. The Union warrants that
in the operation of said Hiring Hall and in referrals
to the Employer, it will not discriminate against any
individual applicant for employment.
26. Employees’ Rooms
Any employee occupying a room or apartment on
the Employer’s property may be charged a reasonable
rental therefore, unless such occupancy is a condition
of employment, in which case no rent shall be charged.
If the Employer terminates the services of an
employee occupying living space in the building,
the Employer shall give the employee thirty (30)
days written notice to vacate, except where there is
a discharge for a serious breach of the employment
contract.
27. Definitions
Elevator Starter — chief responsibility is to
direct elevator operations and traffic in the building
and does not normally operate an elevator.
Handyperson — possesses a certain amount of
mechanical or technical skill and devotes more than
fifty (50) percent of working time in a building to
work involving such skill.
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Foreperson — differs from a porter or cleaning
person in that the main responsibility is to direct
cleaning operations.
Guard — an employee whose function is to
enforce rules to protect the property of the Employer
or to protect the safety of persons on the Employer’s
premises and whose duties shall not include the work
performed under any other job classification covered
in this agreement.
Others include elevator operators, porters,
porter/watchpersons, cleaning persons, restroom
attendants, security porters, fire safety directors,
exterminators, and all other service employees
employed in the building under the jurisdiction of
the Union except those other classifications specified
above.
A “regular full-time employee,” unless otherwise
specified, shall be defined as one who is regularly
scheduled to work at least five days per week and at
least five hours per day.
All reference to the male or female gender shall
be deemed gender-neutral.
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28. Required Training Programs
The Employer shall compensate any employee
now employed in a building for any time required
for the employee to attend any instruction or training
program in connection with the securing of any
license, permit or certificate required by the Employer
for the performance of duties in the building. Time
spent shall be considered as time worked for the
purpose of computing overtime pay.
29. Building Safety and Security
The Employer shall continue to provide safe and
healthy working conditions. The RAB and the Union
will create a Committee to study environmentally
conscious best work practices.
The RAB and Union shall establish a joint
labor-management committee on building safety and
security. The Committee shall meet at least quarterly
to discuss security and safety procedures, training for
building staff, contracting protocols, integration with
fire, police, emergency professionals and other steps
designed to maximize tenant and employee safety.
30. Garnishments
No employee shall be discharged or laid off
because of the service of an income execution, unless
in accordance with applicable law.
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31. Death in Family
A regular employee with at least one (1) year of
employment in the building shall not be required to
work for a maximum of three (3) days immediately
following the death of a parent, brother, sister, spouse
or child, and shall be paid regular, straight-time wages
for any such three (3) days on which such employee
was regularly scheduled to work, or entitled to
holiday pay.
With respect to grandparents, the Employer shall
grant a paid day off on the day of the funeral if such
day is a regularly scheduled workday.
32. Union Visitation
Any business agent or other duly authorized
representative of the Union shall have access to the
buildings or sites where union members are employed
to determine whether the terms of this agreement are
being complied with. Access shall be granted only if
there is prior notice to the Employer and such access
does not interfere with the work being performed at
the building.
33. Jury Duty
Employees who are required to qualify or serve
on juries shall receive the difference between their
regular rate of pay and the amount they receive for
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serving on said jury with a maximum of three (3)
weeks in any calendar year.
Pending receipt of the jury duty pay, the
Employer shall pay the employee’s regular pay on
such employee’s scheduled payday. As soon as the
employee receives the jury duty pay, the employee
shall reimburse the Employer by signing the jury pay
check over to the Employer.
Employees who serve on a jury shall not be
required to work any shift during such day. If an
employee is a weekend employee and assigned to jury
duty, such employee shall not be required to work the
weekend.
In order to receive jury duty pay, the employee
must notify the Employer at least two (2) weeks
before the employee is scheduled to serve.
If less notice is given by the employee, the notice
provision regarding change in shift shall not apply.
34. Identification
Employees may be required to carry with them
and exhibit proof of employment on the premises.
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35. Service Center Visit
Every full-time employee who has been
employed in the building for one (1) year or more shall
be entitled, upon one (1) week notice to the Employer,
to take one (1) day off in each calendar year at straight
time pay to visit the office of any one of the 32BJ
Benefit Funds for the purpose of conducting business
at the Benefit Funds office or to visit an employee’s
personal physician.
Such employee shall receive an additional one
(1) day off with pay to visit the Benefit Funds office
or to visit the employee’s personal physician’s office
if such office requires such a visit. If the additional
day is to visit a personal physician, the Employer can
request, and the employee must provide, a HIPAA
compliant release (to be developed by the Health
Fund) sufficient to provide proof that the employee
visited the personal physician at the physician’s
request for this additional one (1) day.
In the event that an employee chooses to visit
any one of the benefit fund offices after having used
up the entitlement pursuant to the above two (2)
paragraphs, such employee may use any unused sick
days for that purpose.
To receive payment for such day(s), the
employee shall exhibit a signed statement from the
benefit fund office.
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36. Automation Employment Pool
The President of the Union, or the Vice
President, and the Executive Vice President of
the RAB, or a designee thereof, may constitute a
committee to formulate and effectuate a plan for
providing employment in the industry for employees
represented by the Union with long service who have
lost their jobs because of conversion to automatic
elevators or other mechanical devices at a time when
they are approaching the age and service requirements
to become eligible for pension benefits.
This committee may arrange to list such
employees in a special “Automation Employment
Pool,” giving preference for employment to the extent
practicable, in the order of their requirements for
pension benefit to fill an available vacancy consistent
with physical and/or mental ability and the necessary
experience. The committee may, to the fullest extent
possible, obtain and keep current information as to
vacancies in employment and of new jobs available
in RAB member buildings covered by this agreement.
The committee may also consider the institution
of plans to provide training of employees to improve
their skills and to enter into employment in the
industry.
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The Employer and the Union will cooperate with
the committee in its effort to achieve the objectives of
this provision.
37. Death of Employee
If any employee dies after becoming entitled to,
but before receiving, any wage or pay hereunder, it
shall be paid to such employee’s estate, or pursuant
to Section 1310 of the New York Surrogate’s Court
Procedure Act, unless otherwise provided herein. This
shall not apply to benefits under Article XI where the
rules and regulations of the Health and Pension Fund
shall govern.
38. Government Decrees
If because of legislation, governmental decree or
order, any increase or benefit herein provided is in
any way blocked, frustrated, impeded or diminished,
the Union may upon ten (10) days notice require
negotiation between the parties to take such measures
and reach such revisions in the contract as may legally
provide substitute benefits and improvements for the
employees, at no greater cost to the Employers. If
they cannot agree, the dispute shall be submitted to
the Arbitrator.
In the event that any provision of this contract
requires approval of any government agency, the RAB
shall cooperate with the Union with respect thereto.
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39. Weather Conditions
Where extreme cold or hot weather causes
hardship to the employee in the performance of such
employee’s normal duties, the Union has the right
to request the Employer to revise work schedules so
as to give the employee such advantage of retained
heat or cold as may be compatible with the efficient
operation of the building.
40. Common Disaster
There shall be no loss of pay as a result of any
Act of God or common disaster causing the shutdown
of all or virtually all public transportation in the City
of New York, making it impossible for employees to
report for work, or where the Mayor of the City of
New York or the Governor of the State of New York
directs the citizens of the City not to report for work.
The Employer shall not be liable for loss of pay of
more than the first full day affected by such Act of
God or common disaster. Employees necessary to
maintain the safety or security of the building shall be
paid only if they have no reasonable way to report to
work and employees refusing the Employer’s offer of
alternate transportation shall not qualify for such pay.
The term “public transportation” as used herein shall
include subways and buses.
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41. Transportation Costs
The RAB will encourage its members to adopt
a qualified transportation fringe benefit program
pursuant to which employees may pay for certain
qualified transportation costs (e.g. transit passes,
qualified parking) on a pre-tax basis, to the extent
permitted by law. The RAB will make information
available to its members that is necessary to assist
them in adoption and implementation of the program.
42. Cuspidors
Employees will not be required to clean
cuspidors.
43. Security Background Checks
All employees shall be subject to security
background checks at any time. The Employer shall
pay all costs of any security background checks,
including pre-employment checks. All security
background checks shall be confidential, and may
be disclosed only as required by law or on a business
need to know basis and/or to the Union as necessary
for the administering of this Agreement.
An employee shall cooperate with an Employer
as necessary for obtaining security background
checks. Any employee who refuses to cooperate
shall be subject to termination. Employees who fail
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such security background check shall be subject to
termination.
For the purpose of this provision, just cause to
terminate an employee who has failed a security
background check exists only if it is established that
one or more of the findings of the background security
check is directly related to such employee’s job
functions or responsibilities, or that the continuation
of employment would involve an unreasonable risk
to property or to the safety or welfare of specific
individuals or the general public or constitute a violation
of any applicable governmental rule or regulation. If
the customer determines that the employee has failed
a security background check, but the Employer lacks
cause for termination under this provision, the terms of
Article IV, Section 4 shall apply.
44. Work Authorization and Status Disputes
The parties recognize that questions involving
an employee’s work status or personal information
may arise during the course of such employee’s
employment, and that errors in an employee’s
documentation may be due to mistake or circumstances
beyond an employee’s control. The parties agree to
attempt to minimize the impact of such issues on both
the affected employees and employers by working
together to fairly resolve such issues while complying
with all applicable laws.
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45. Veteran Transition Assistance
The parties recognize that making a successful
transition from the military into the civilian workforce
can be challenging. Out of respect for those serving in
the military and in acknowledgment of the tremendous
skills they can bring to the workforce, the parties shall
create a committee tasked with assisting veterans in
this transition. These efforts shall include, but not be
limited to: (i) increasing the industry’s advertising/
recruitment efforts to encourage veterans to apply
for jobs within the industry; (ii) communicating with
the industry about the numerous benefits associated
with hiring veterans; and (iii) providing newly hired
veterans with access to training through classes to
be created by the Thomas Shortman School aimed
at easing the transition to the civilian workforce and
teaching the requisite skills.
46. Saving Clause
If any provision of this agreement shall be held
illegal or of no legal effect, it shall be deemed null and
void without affecting the obligations of the balance
of this agreement.
Both parties agree to construe any provisions
held to be contrary to law as closely to its bargained
for purpose permissible by law and to agree on a
revised draft of such provisions that as close as legally
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possible mirrors and/or achieves the purpose of such
an invalidated or unenforceable provision.
47. Complete Agreement
This Agreement constitutes the full understanding
between the parties and, except as they may otherwise
agree, there shall be no demand by either party for the
negotiation or renegotiation of any matter covered or
not covered by the provisions hereof.
48. Notices
All notices required by this Agreement to be
mailed to the Union shall be mailed to the attention of
the Director of the NYC Commercial Division.
49. Wage and Hour Claims
Subject to the principles set forth below, the
Employee and the Union agree that in the event that an
Employee (on behalf of the Employee and/or others)
asserts statutory wage and hour claim(s) against the
Employer(s), including claims for unpaid minimum
wages and/or overtime pay, prior to the filing of any
such claim(s) in court, the Employer and Employee
shall engage in mandatory mediation to attempt to
narrow or resolve the claim(s). The RAB and Union
agree to establish a mediation process for handling
such claims. The following principles shall apply:
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(a) The Employee(s) must initiate mediation by
written notice to the Employer, or the Employer must
initiate mediation by written notice to the Employee(s)
and Employee’s counsel, as appropriate.
(b) Initiation of mediation shall be required
only of Employees who are (or who will seek to be)
plaintiffs in an individual or multi-plaintiff action or
named or representative plaintiffs in a putative class
and/or collective action. Employees who are not (and
will not seek to be) named or representative plaintiffs
(e.g., who are merely putative class or collective action
members) are not required to initiate mediation in
connection with this section; however, the Employees’
claims will be a subject of the mediation process
described in this section.
(c) Unless otherwise agreed to by the mediating
parties, at any time following ninety (90) days
after the initiation of the mediation process, either
the Employer or the Employee(s) may terminate
mediation by written notice to the other side, and,
in that event, no further mediation effort shall be
required by this Agreement.
(d) In the event that Employee(s) initiate litigation
in a judicial forum on the Employee’s wage and hour
claims without first submitting to the mediation
process described in this section and the Employer
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seeks to enforce the requirements of this paragraph,
the Employer shall not seek dismissal of the judicial
action but may seek to have the action stayed pending
the completion of the mediation provided for herein.
(e) The parties do not intend an Employee’s
substantive or recovery rights or any Employer
defenses to be limited by virtue of the terms of this
mediation process. Hence, during the pendency of
the mediation process, any statutes of limitations
and/or filing periods shall be tolled, and recovery of
appropriate damages shall be permitted for all time
periods during which mediation is occurring or has
occurred. To the extent that the tolling described
in this paragraph is deemed legally ineffective, and
without conceding that any recovery is appropriate,
the Employee(s) shall have the contractual right to
seek recovery for any time period(s) that would have
been tolled without having to exhaust the grievance
and arbitration procedures set forth in this Agreement.
(f) The RAB and the Union shall provide affected
Employee(s) and the Employee’s Employer(s) with a
list of mediators who will be available to conduct the
mediation. The mediator’s fees shall be paid for by
the RAB and the Union in equal shares. The parties
shall be free to use another mediator of the parties’
own choosing but in that event shall bear the costs of
mediation as they determine.
136
(g) The conduct of the mediation shall be
confidential and the rules of evidence pertaining to
privileges related to settlement discussions shall apply
to communications in mediation.
(h) Any agreement reached in mediation shall not
alter the collective bargaining agreement or affect the
contractual rights of employees who are not parties to
that agreement.
ARTICLE XXII
New Development
The Union and the RAB recognize (1) that real
estate development strengthens communities and
enhances New York’s economy; (2) that the economics
of developments are complex and not uniform; and
(3) that successful development is important to all
stakeholders, and to the people of the City of New
York. Therefore, the parties shall establish a sitting
New Development Committee whose members shall
determine, on a project-by-project basis, wage and
benefit standards that accord with the needs of the
parties and are consistent with applicable law for
employees in newly constructed buildings. Any such
standards shall be determined only upon the mutual
agreement of the Union and the RAB. Any action or
inaction of the committee shall not be reviewable in
any forum. The committee shall be comprised of an
137
equal number of persons appointed by the President
of the Union and the President of the RAB.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have
hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year
first above written.
REALTY ADVISORY BOARD
ON LABOR RELATIONS
INCORPORATED
Howard I. Rothschild
President
SERVICE EMPLOYEES
INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL 32BJ
Kyle Bragg
President
138
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Reserved Question on Mandatory Arbitration for Statutory
Discrimination Claims
Dear Kyle:
This letter will confirm our understanding on the issue of whether
arbitration is mandatory for statutory discrimination claims brought
under the No Discrimination Clause found in the Collective Bargaining
Agreements (“CBAs”) between the RAB and the Union (the “Reserved
Question”).
Following the decision of the Supreme Court in 14 Penn Plaza LLC v.
Pyett, 556 U.S. 247 (2009), the RAB and the Union have had a dispute
about the Reserved Question, specifically regarding the meaning of the
No Discrimination Clause and the grievance and arbitration clauses in
the CBAs. The Reserved Question is as follows:
The Union contends that the CBAs do not make provision
for arbitration of any claims that the Union does not choose
to take to arbitration, including statutory discrimination
claims, and therefore, individual employees are not barred
from pursuing their discrimination claims in court where the
Union has declined to pursue them in arbitration. The RAB
contends that the CBAs require arbitration of all individual
claims, even where the Union has declined to bring such
claims to arbitration.
The parties agree that, should either the Union or the RAB deem it
appropriate or necessary to do so, that party may bring to arbitration
the Reserved Question. The parties intend that the Reserved Question
may only be resolved in arbitration between them and not in any form
of judicial or administrative proceeding. The outcome of the Reserved
139
Question hinges on collective bargaining language and bargaining
history, which are subjects properly suited for arbitration. Such
arbitration may be commenced on 30 calendar days’ written notice
to the other party. The arbitrator for such arbitration shall be Roberta
Golick, unless she is unable or unwilling to serve, in which case the
parties shall agree upon an arbitrator, and failing agreement shall submit
the case to arbitration before the American Arbitration Association, in
New York City.
In 2010, the parties initiated the No-Discrimination Protocol. The No
Discrimination Protocol is applicable to all such claims. This Protocol
was intended, and continues, to serve as an alternative to arbitrating the
parties’ disagreement on the Reserved Question. The parties agreed
to include the No-Discrimination Protocol as part of the CBAs, as
further modified in December 2015. The Union and the RAB agree
that the provisions of the No-Discrimination Protocol do not resolve
the Reserved Question. Neither the inclusion of the No-Discrimination
Protocol in the CBAs nor the terms of the No-Discrimination Protocol
shall be understood to advance either party’s contention as to the
meaning of the CBAs with regard to the Reserved Question, nor will
either party make any representation to the contrary.
Without prejudice to either parties’ position on the continued viability
of any other side letter, this side letter shall continue in effect unless
and until the parties agree otherwise or until the Reserved Question is
decided by Arbitrator Golick.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
140
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Transition from Contractor to Direct Building Employee
Dear Kyle:
No employee who is transferred from a contractor to the building
payroll purely as a result of the owner and/or agent terminating the
contractor and performing building service work directly, shall suffer
a loss of benefits that are determined by an employee’s accrued time
(years of service) as provided in Article XIII (Sick Days) and Article
XXI, Section 11 (Recall), Section 12 (Leaves of Absence), Section 13
(Vacation) and Section 21 (Termination Pay) of the Agreement.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
141
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Consultancy Committee
Dear Kyle:
The parties recognize that the use of consultants is a practice that has
arisen in the industry. Upon the Union’s request, the parties agree to
create a joint committee consisting of the Union President and the RAB
President, or their designees, to discuss issues affecting employees
covered under this Agreement that arise out of any consultancy with
respect to work covered under this Agreement or the Contractors’
Agreement.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
142
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Employer Contributions to Pension and SRSP Funds
Dear Kyle:
This will confirm our understanding that the April 2007 side letter re:
Employer Contributions to Pension and SRSP Funds applies to the new
hire rate.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
143
December 20, 2019
Howard Rothschild, President
Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations
292 Madison Avenue, 16th Floor
New York, New York
Re: Reduction in Force
Dear Howard:
This will confirm our understanding during our recent negotiations
that the Union and the RAB re-affirm their commitment to the Special
Committee process set forth in Article V of the Commercial Building
Agreement and in Article XIII of the Contractors Agreement.
Upon the request of the President of the RAB, the Special Committee
shall meet on at least a quarterly basis or more frequently as necessary.
To keep the New York City area Real Estate Industry competitive and
productive, the parties recommit that the Reduction in Force process
under the Commercial and Contractors Agreements will be utilized
appropriately and in good faith.
Sincerely,
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
AGREED:
_______________________________
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
144
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: A-B Time Side Letter
Dear Kyle:
The parties agree that where an A-B time pay practice existed at the
building prior to January 1, 2008, all employees on the payroll prior to
that date, and working within the scope of the A-B time practice, shall
continue to receive this benefit. Employees hired after January 1, 2008,
will not be eligible for the A-B time practice. Absentee work assignments
shall be rotated fairly among all employees by seniority order.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
145
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Security Background Checks
Dear Kyle:
This will confirm our understanding during our recent negotiations that
an Employer may not invoke Article XXI (General Clauses) Section
43 (Security background checks) in connection with a Social Security
“no match” letter.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
146
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Transition of Guards to the Security Officer Agreement
Dear Kyle:
This letter confirms our agreement regarding the transitioning of guards
covered under the Commercial and/or Contractor Agreements to the
RAB/Local 32BJ Security Officer Agreement.
Any Employer wishing to remove its Guards from this Agreement
and, instead, have those Guards covered under the RAB Security
Officers Agreement shall enter into a transition agreement with the
Union facilitating such transfer consistent with established transition
agreements. The Union shall not unreasonably withhold its agreement
to transfer such Guards to the Security Officer Agreement.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
147
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Work Authorization and Status Disputes
Dear Kyle:
In light of the diversity of the workforce in the industry and the changing
regulatory environment, the parties reaffirm the parties’ commitment
to employees who need to resolve issues related to the employees’
immigration or work authorization status.
Upon the request of either party, the parties shall establish a joint
committee to discuss issues related to employees’ Work Authorization.
The Committee shall consist of the President of Local 32BJ and the
President of the RAB, or their designees.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
148
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Grievance and Arbitration
Dear Kyle:
The parties agree to meet quarterly on issues related to streamlining
grievance and arbitration processes, including calendaring and
exchanging information of case status. The meetings shall be attended
by the President of Local 32BJ and the President of the RAB, or their
designees.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
149
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Industry Seniority
Dear Kyle:
The parties recognize that, in situations in which an employee with
many years of continuous service in the industry is forced to bump into
another location and then faces a change of employer at that location,
the employee’s seniority standing for purpose of layoff and recall may
be impacted. The parties agree to meet in committee to discuss ways to
address this and like circumstances. The committee shall consist of the
President of the RAB and the President of the Union, or their designees.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
150
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Conversions
Dear Kyle:
The parties agree to meet in committee to discuss the financial impact
on employees of a sale related to a change in the primary purpose of the
building from a Commercial Building to a Residential Building. The
committee shall consist of the President of the RAB and the President
of the Union, or their designees.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
151
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Fire Safety Directors
Dear Kyle:
This will confirm our understanding that the revisions made to Article
XVII (Wages and Hours), Section 11 in the collective bargaining
agreement between the Union and the Employer covering the period
from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2023 providing for annual
lump-sum payments of $500.00 to regularly assigned EAP Coordinators,
Fire Safety Directors and Assistant and/or Deputy Fire Safety Directors
are not intended to, and shall not, create any obligations on the part of
the Employer to increase the base on which overtime pay is calculated
or otherwise alter overtime payments to such employees as a result
of such lump-sum payments. Rather, such payments are intended to
defray expenses incurred in seeking or maintaining certification, and are
not made as compensation for hours of employment.
For the avoidance of any doubt, any disputes over the lump-sum payments
made to regularly assigned EAP Coordinators, Fire Safety Directors and
Assistant and/or Deputy Fire Safety Directors, including any disputes
over pay arising from or relating to such payments, shall be subject to the
grievance and arbitration provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
152
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Extensions of the Trial Period
Dear Kyle:
This is to confirm our understanding as to the trial period provision
of the Article XXI, Section 10(a). There are circumstances in which
an Employer is not prepared to decide whether a new employee
has satisfied the trial period at the conclusion of the first 60 days of
employment and yet has also not concluded that the employee may
not be suitable for continued employment. In those circumstances,
if the Employer requests that the employee’s probationary period be
extended for 30 days, the trial period will be extended for 30 days if
the Union consents to the extension. The request and consent shall be
memorialized in writing at any time before the completion of the 60
days provided for in Article XXI, Section 10(a), provided that when the
Employer makes a timely request for an extension in writing, the trial
period shall be extended until the Union responds to the Employer’s
request (up to a maximum of 30 days beyond the initial 60-day period).
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
153
December 20, 2019
Kyle Bragg, President
SEIU, Local 32BJ
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Re: Permissive Guidelines for Building Closings for Reconstruction
or Demolition
Dear Kyle:
Over the last few years, there have been a number of building closings
for reconstruction or demolition in our industry. Working together, the
RAB, the Union, and the relevant Employers have developed a process
of successfully working together that advances everyone’s interests and
minimizes layoffs.
This letter generally describes how that process has worked. Where
the Employer knows in advance that all or a substantial portion of a
building will be closing for reconstruction or demolition and likely
cause the displacement and/or layoff of the Employer’s employees at
the building:
• the Employer shall notify the Union as soon as practicable;
• the parties shall discuss the closure plan; and
• in order to minimize displacement and layoffs, the parties may
agree to a process whereby employees are offered placement in
positions at other locations prior to or in conjunction with the
closing of the building.
To be clear, the parties are not required to agree to such a process.
In the absence of such an agreement, there shall be no abridgement
of employees’ rights under the Commercial Building Agreement,
including the employees’ right to recall, consideration for vacation
positions, or termination pay. Nor shall there be any abridgement of
the Employer’s rights.
154
This side letter is entered into on a non-precedential basis and shall not
be subject to the grievance and arbitration procedure of the relevant
collective bargaining agreement.
Sincerely,
Howard Rothschild
President, RAB
AGREED:
_______________________________
Kyle Bragg
President, SEIU, Local 32BJ
155
MINIMUM WAGE RATES
JANUARY 1, 2020 – DECEMBER 31, 2020
OFFICE BUILDINGS
Regular Overtime 8 Hour 40 Hour
Hr. Rate Hr. Rate Rate Rate
Class A
Handypersons 29.773 44.6595 238.184 1,190.92
Forepersons 29.6605 44.49075 237.284 1,186.42
Starters 29.6605 44.49075 237.284 1,186.42
Others 27.248 40.872 217.984 1,089.92
Guards* 25.791 38.6865 206.328 1,031.64
Class B
Handypersons 29.742 44.613 237.936 1,189.68
Forepersons 29.6295 44.44425 237.036 1,185.18
Starters 29.6295 44.44425 237.036 1,185.18
Others 27.217 40.8255 217.736 1,088.68
Guards* 25.791 38.6865 206.328 1,031.64
Class C
Handypersons 29.698 44.547 237.584 1,187.92
Forepersons 29.5855 44.37825 236.684 1,183.42
Starters 29.5855 44.37825 236.684 1,183.42
Others 27.173 40.7595 217.384 1,086.92
Guards* 25.791 38.6865 206.328 1,031.64
156
LOFT BUILDINGS
Regular Overtime 8 Hour 40 Hour
Hr. Rate Hr. Rate Rate Rate
Class A
Handypersons 29.723 44.5845 237.784 1,188.92
Forepersons 29.6295 44.44425 237.036 1,185.18
Starters 29.6295 44.44425 237.036 1,185.18
Others 27.217 40.8255 217.736 1,088.68
Guards* 25.791 38.6865 206.328 1,031.64
Class B
Handypersons 29.65 44.475 237.20 1,186.00
Forepersons 29.5805 44.37075 236.644 1,183.22
Starters 29.5805 44.37075 236.644 1,183.22
Others 27.168 40.752 217.344 1,086.72
Guards* 25.791 38.6865 206.328 1,031.64
Class C
Handypersons 29.527 44.2905 236.216 1,181.08
Forepersons 29.4395 44.15925 235.516 1,177.58
Starters 29.4395 44.15925 235.516 1,177.58
Others 27.127 40.6905 217.016 1,085.08
Guards* 25.791 38.6865 206.328 1,031.64
*Guards hired prior to January 1, 1978 shall receive the rate
of “others.”
157
MINIMUM WAGE RATES
JANUARY 1, 2021 – DECEMBER 31, 2021
OFFICE BUILDINGS
Regular Overtime 8 Hour 40 Hour
Hr. Rate Hr. Rate Rate Rate
Class A
Handypersons 30.523 45.7845 244.184 1,220.92
Forepersons 30.4105 45.61575 243.284 1,216.42
Starters 30.4105 45.61575 243.284 1,216.42
Others 27.948 41.922 223.584 1,117.92
Guards* 26.491 39.7365 211.928 1,059.64
Class B
Handypersons 30.492 45.738 243.936 1,219.68
Forepersons 30.3795 45.56925 243.036 1,215.18
Starters 30.3795 45.56925 243.036 1,215.18
Others 27.917 41.8755 223.336 1,116.68
Guards* 26.491 39.7365 211.928 1,059.64
Class C
Handypersons 30.448 45.672 243.584 1,217.92
Forepersons 30.3355 45.50325 242.684 1,213.42
Starters 30.3355 45.50325 242.684 1,213.42
Others 27.873 41.8095 222.984 1,114.92
Guards* 26.491 39.7365 211.928 1,059.64
158
LOFT BUILDINGS
Regular Overtime 8 Hour 40 Hour
Hr. Rate Hr. Rate Rate Rate
Class A
Handypersons 30.473 45.7095 243.784 1,218.92
Forepersons 30.3795 45.56925 243.036 1,215.18
Starters 30.3795 45.56925 243.036 1,215.18
Others 27.917 41.8755 223.336 1,116.68
Guards* 26.491 39.7365 211.928 1,059.64
Class B
Handypersons 30.40 45.60 243.20 1,216.00
Forepersons 30.3305 45.49575 242.644 1,213.22
Starters 30.3305 45.49575 242.644 1,213.22
Others 27.868 41.802 222.944 1,114.72
Guards* 26.491 39.7365 211.928 1,059.64
Class C
Handypersons 30.277 45.4155 242.216 1,211.08
Forepersons 30.1895 45.28425 241.516 1,207.58
Starters 30.1895 45.28425 241.516 1,207.58
Others 27.827 41.7405 222.616 1,113.08
Guards* 26.491 39.7365 211.928 1,059.64
*Guards hired prior to January 1, 1978 shall receive the rate
of “others.”
159
MINIMUM WAGE RATES
JANUARY 1, 2022– DECEMBER 31, 2022
OFFICE BUILDINGS
Regular Overtime 8 Hour 40 Hour
Hr. Rate Hr. Rate Rate Rate
Class A
Handypersons 31.273 46.9095 250.184 1,250.92
Forepersons 31.1605 46.74075 249.284 1,246.42
Starters 31.1605 46.74075 249.284 1,246.42
Others 28.648 42.972 229.184 1,145.92
Guards* 27.191 40.7865 217.528 1,087.64
Class B
Handypersons 31.242 46.863 249.936 1,249.68
Forepersons 31.1295 46.69425 249.036 1,245.18
Starters 31.1295 46.69425 249.036 1,245.18
Others 28.617 42.9255 228.936 1,144.68
Guards* 27.191 40.7865 217.528 1,087.64
Class C
Handypersons 31.198 46.797 249.584 1,247.92
Forepersons 31.0855 46.62825 248.684 1,243.42
Starters 31.0855 46.62825 248.684 1,243.42
Others 28.573 42.8595 228.584 1,142.92
Guards* 27.191 40.7865 217.528 1,087.64
160
LOFT BUILDINGS
Regular Overtime 8 Hour 40 Hour
Hr. Rate Hr. Rate Rate Rate
Class A
Handypersons 31.223 46.8345 249.784 1,248.92
Forepersons 31.1295 46.69425 249.036 1,245.18
Starters 31.1295 46.69425 249.036 1,245.18
Others 28.617 42.9255 228.936 1,144.68
Guards* 27.191 40.7865 217.528 1,087.64
Class B
Handypersons 31.15 46.725 249.20 1,246.00
Forepersons 31.0805 46.62075 248.644 1,243.22
Starters 31.0805 46.62075 248.644 1,243.22
Others 28.568 42.852 228.544 1,142.72
Guards* 27.191 40.7865 217.528 1,087.64
Class C
Handypersons 31.027 46.5405 248.216 1,241.08
Forepersons 30.9395 46.40925 247.516 1,237.58
Starters 30.9395 46.40925 247.516 1,237.58
Others 28.527 42.7905 228.216 1,141.08
Guards* 27.191 40.7865 217.528 1,087.64
*Guards hired prior to January 1, 1978 shall receive the rate
of “others.”
161
MINIMUM WAGE RATES
JANUARY 1, 2023 – DECEMBER 31, 2023
OFFICE BUILDINGS
Regular Overtime 8 Hour 40 Hour
Hr. Rate Hr. Rate Rate Rate
Class A
Handypersons 32.148 48.222 257.184 1,285.92
Forepersons 32.0355 48.05325 256.284 1,281.42
Starters 32.0355 48.05325 256.284 1,281.42
Others 29.473 44.2095 235.784 1,178.92
Guards* 28.016 42.024 224.128 1,120.64
Class B
Handypersons 32.117 48.1755 256.936 1,284.68
Forepersons 32.0045 48.00675 256.036 1,280.18
Starters 32.0045 48.00675 256.036 1,280.18
Others 29.442 44.163 235.536 1,177.68
Guards* 28.016 42.024 224.128 1,120.64
Class C
Handypersons 32.073 48.1095 256.584 1,282.92
Forepersons 31.9605 47.94075 255.684 1,278.42
Starters 31.9605 47.94075 255.684 1,278.42
Others 29.398 44.097 235.184 1,175.92
Guards* 28.016 42.024 224.128 1,120.64
162
LOFT BUILDINGS
Regular Overtime 8 Hour 40 Hour
Hr. Rate Hr. Rate Rate Rate
Class A
Handypersons 32.098 48.147 256.784 1,283.92
Forepersons 32.0045 48.00675 256.036 1,280.18
Starters 32.0045 48.00675 256.036 1,280.18
Others 29.442 44.163 235.536 1,177.68
Guards* 28.016 42.024 224.128 1,120.64
Class B
Handypersons 32.025 48.0375 256.20 1,281.00
Forepersons 31.9555 47.93325 255.644 1,278.22
Starters 31.9555 47.93325 255.644 1,278.22
Others 29.393 44.0895 235.144 1,175.72
Guards* 28.016 42.024 224.128 1,120.64
Class C
Handypersons 31.902 47.853 255.216 1,276.08
Forepersons 31.8145 47.72175 254.516 1,272.58
Starters 31.8145 47.72175 254.516 1,272.58
Others 29.352 44.028 234.816 1,174.08
Guards* 28.016 42.024 224.128 1,120.64
*Guards hired prior to January 1, 1978 shall receive the rate
of “others.”
163
INDEX
SUBJECT PAGE
Absentee Workers Hours (AB Time) …….13, 67, 144
Adoption of Agreement ……………………………….35-38
Arbitration……………………………16, 18, 20-21, 24, 25,
………………………………………………27-32, 95, 104, 128
Attendance Bonus ……………………………………………57
Automation Employment Pool ………………….127-128
Benefit Funds………6, 12, 24, 26, 32, 40-54, 104, 126
Better Terms and Conditions …..14-15, 43-44, 48-49
Building Safety ……………………………………………..123
Bulletin Board………………………………………….85, 105
Call-in Pay ……………………………………………………..69
Check-off (Dues) ………………………………………….6-10
Classification of Buildings……………………………61-62
Clinic Day (Service Center Visit)…………………….126
Common Disaster…………………………………………..129
Complete Agreement ……………………………………..133
Condemnation ………………………………………………..59
Consultants……………………………………………………141
Contracting of Work ……………………..2, 11-14, 24, 34
Contractor Employee Transition………………………140
Cost of Living …………………………………………….63-65
Coverage of Agreement ………………….. 1-2, 11-14, 71
Cuspidors ……………………………………………………..130
Day of Rest …………………………………………………..104
Days Off ………………………………………67, 72, 87, 101
Death (in family, of employee)…………………124, 128
164
SUBJECT PAGE
Differentials ……………………………………………….81-82
Disability Benefits Law ……. 41, 47-48, 55-56, 57, 97
Discharge ………………………… 3-4, 17, 24-25, 74, 106,
………………………………………………..121, 123, 130-131
Discrimination……………… 95, 110, 119-120, 138-139
Discrimination – Protocol………………………….111-118
Discrimination – Protocol Mediation ………….112-115
Discrimination – Protocol Arbitration…………115-118
Displacement or Transfer……………………………..17-18
EAP Coordinator………………………………………70, 151
Election Day……………………………………………………87
Elevator Conversion………………………….107, 127-128
Elevator Starter …………………………………..63, 66, 121
Employee Identification………………………………….125
Employees’ Rooms ………………………………………..121
Employment Agency Fee …………………………120-121
Engineers………………………………………………………..82
Experienced Employee …………………………………….93
Eye Glasses …………………………………………………..105
Family and Medical Leave Act…………………….52, 93
Fines…………………………………………………………….109
Fire and Flood Call ………………………………………..105
Fire Safety Director …………………………..70, 122, 151
Firemen ………………………………………………………..101
First Aid Kit ………………………………………………….105
Flexibility……………………………………………………….13
Foreperson………………………………………….63, 69, 122
Garnishments ………………………………………………..123
165
SUBJECT………………………………………………… PAGE
Governmental Decrees……………………………………128
Grievance Procedure …………………………………..25-27
Guards…………………………66, 68, 79, 92-94, 122, 146
Handyperson ……………………………………………63, 121
Hardship Buildings ………………………………………….40
Health Fund…………………………………………..40-47, 99
Health Fund Study Committee………………………44-46
Hiring Hall ……………………………………………..120-121
Holidays ……………………………..14, 57, 65, 82-87, 101
Hours………………………………………… 12, 14-16, 65-70
Identification…………………………………………………125
Injuries …………………………………………………55, 97-99
Inspection of Employer Records……………………….5-6
Job Definitions………………………………………..121-122
Joint Industry Advancement Project………………75-79
Jury Duty………………………………………………..124-125
Labor Peace Committee……………………………………34
Layoff……………………………………………90, 95-97, 123
Leave of Absence ……………………………………..97-100
Legal Assistance (building violations)………………109
Legal Fund …………………………………………………51-52
Licenses…………………………………………………109, 123
Life Insurance ……………………………………….14, 43-44
Locker ………………………………………………………….106
Lockout ……………………………………………………..32-34
Lunch Period…………………………………………………..66
Management Rights ……………………………………16-18
Meal Allowance………………………………………………69
166
SUBJECT………………………………………………… PAGE
Medical Leave…………………………………………….97-99
Method of Payment of Wages……………………….88-89
Military Service …………………………………………….109
Most Favored Nations Clause……………………….38-40
Multi-Employer Bargaining………………………….35-40
New Development …………………………………..136-137
New Hire Rate and Contributions………………….92-95
New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act ….59
New York State Paid Family Leave Law ……………99
Newly Constructed Buildings…………………37, 67, 69
Night Work ………………………………………….66, 67-68
Notice of Discharge/Termination …………..3-4, 19, 21
Others……………………………………………69, 92-94, 122
Overtime …………………….65, 69, 70, 82, 88, 123, 151
Part-time Employee ……………………..58, 88, 100, 108
Paternity/Maternity Leave ………………………………..98
Pension Fund…………………….. 47-51, 93-94, 128, 142
Permits ………………………………………………….109, 123
Personal Day …………………………………………85-86, 87
Picketing ……………………………………………………32-34
Political Contributions …………………………………….6-8
Postings of Vacancies ………………………………………91
Pregnancy Leave……………………………………………..98
Premium Pay…………………………14, 68-69, 72, 82, 88
Probationary Period (Trial Period)……………………..92
Promotion…………………………………………………..91-92
Pyramiding……………………………………………………..82
Reason for Discharge…………………………………..24-25
167
SUBJECT………………………………………………… PAGE
Recall …………………………………………………..90, 95-97
Reduction in Force……………..12, 18-24, 90, 107, 143
Relief Employees…………………….67, 88, 92, 103-104
Relief Periods…………………………………………….14, 66
Remodeled Buildings……………………………………….37
Re-openings ……………………………………..54, 128, 133
Replacements ……………………………………………..91-92
Resignation ………………………………..74, 103, 106-107
Rest Room…………………………………………………….106
Safety …………………………………………………………..123
Sale of Building ……………………….. 35-36, 59-60, 108
Sanitary Arrangements……………………………………106
Saving Clause ………………………….. 3, 13-14, 132-133
Schedules …………………………………………..15, 88, 129
Security Background Checks …………….130-131, 145
Seniority……………………………………. 13, 90-91, 97-99
Service Center Visit ……………………………………….126
Sick Days ………………………………………56-59, 82, 126
Strike…………………………………………………………32-34
Subcontracting ……………………….. 2, 11-14, 22-24, 34
Superintendents…………………………..2, 71-75, 79, 109
Supplemental Retirement &
Savings Fund……………………………………52, 94, 142
Temporary Schedule Changes …………………………..15
Term of Agreement……………………………………..79-80
Termination Pay …………………………..90, 96, 106-108
Tools …………………………………………………………..109
Training Fund………………………………………………….51
168
SUBJECT………………………………………………… PAGE
Training Program…………………………………………..123
Transfer of Title ………………………………. 35-37, 59-60
Transportation Costs ………………………………………130
Trial Period …………………………………………………….92
Unemployment Insurance Law……………………..55-56
Uniforms ………………………………………………..104-105
Union Insignia……………………………………………….105
Union Leave of Absence……………………………57, 100
Union Recognition …………………………………………1-5
Union Security ……………………………………………….1-5
Union Visitation………………………………………5-6, 124
Vacancies …………………………………………………..91-92
Vacation Replacement. ……………………….92, 103-104
Vacations, Vacation Pay …………..14, 74, 96, 100-104
Veteran Transition Assistance …………………………132
Voting Time……………………………………………………87
Wages…………………………..14, 62-65, 71-72, 155-162
Wage and Hour Claims…………………………….133-136
Wage Differentials…………………………………74, 81-82
Weather Conditions ………………………………………129
Work Authorization and Status Disputes…………..131
Work Clothes ………………………………………….104-105
Work Stoppage……………………………………………32-34
Working Conditions (Superintendent)……………72-75
Workers’ Compensation ………… 18, 41, 47-48, 55-56
…………………………………………………………….57, 97-98
Workloads………………………………………………….15-16
Workweek………………………………………………….65-67
169
170
171
NOTES
172
NOTES
2020
Commercial Building
AGREEMENT
MINIMUM WAGE RATES
2020-2023
(See Pages 155-162)
LOCAL 32BJ
SERVICE EMPLOYEES
INTERNATIONAL UNION
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011-1991
(212) 388-3800
REALTY ADVISORY BOARD
ON LABOR RELATIONS, INC.
One Penn Plaza, Suite 2110
New York, NY 10119
(212) 889-4100