Co-op City Workers' Strike Is Over
Tuesday, June 8, 12:58 p.m.; updated 4:20 p.m. — Co-op City management's management company, RiverBay, accepted an offer by Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) early today to return to work, according to a union spokesperson. This ends for now the strike by 500 porters, handymen, garbage collectors and groundskeepers at the massive co-op complex in The Bronx, which began with a lockout at t 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, June 1.
“The men and women who keep Co-op City running deserve quality health care and a fair wage, just as Co-op City residents deserve top quality service and maintenance,” said 32BJ vice president Kyle Bragg in a formal statement.
The strikers will return to work, receiving the salaries and benefits of the expired contract, while negotiators return to the bargaining table.
The dispute centered on RiverBay's proposal that the workers either keep the existing North Suburban health plan and receive no raise, or accept a 2.33 percent raise, frozen for four years, with a switch to the Bronx Realty Advisory Board health plan, which Co-op City general manager Vernon Cooper of RiverBay has said would cost the co-op $1.3 million less per year. The union has said the cheaper plan is inferior and contains caps.
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