September 30, 2004

What to Do in the Event of an Office Building Maintenance Workers Strike

As you may be aware, Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, which represents 25,000 maintenance workers in New York City has set a strike deadline against the owners of more than 1,000 office buildings in which the union members work. 

As of late this afternoon, talks were still under way in an effort to meet an agreement before tonight’s midnight deadline. 

In the event of a strike it is not expected that the striking workers will ask you to  or attempt to prevent you from entering the buildings in which you work. 

New York Newspaper Guild President Barry Lipton and Secretary-Treasurer Bill O’Meara request that all Guild represented employees do nothing to assist the building owners or the replacement workers they may attempt to bring in to keep the workplace clean. 

Guild members are asked not to do things such as emptying wastebaskets, cleaning desk surfaces, showing replacement workers the location of cleaning supplies, or cleaning up after they eat in the cafeteria or other common eating areas. 

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9/30/04