New York building workers adjust amid the coronavirus crisis
For the last two months, New York City building doorman Louis DeJesus has seen the warm daily greetings he enjoyed exchanging with residents turn into muffled hellos and distant waves. The daily check-ins on elderly residents became filled with trepidation.
Packages delivered to lobbies were wiped down with disinfectant before being dropped off outside an apartment door. Elevator buttons and door handles were sanitized over and over. It’s been a major shift for many residential doormen — the job’s contractual title even though its also filled by women — in response to the state’s shelter-in-place order set in March to try to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing has disrupted the connection between DeJesus and residents at the 168-unit condominium on Manhattan’s Upper West Side where he has worked for 17 years. “We play with their kids, we talk about things and life, we hug each other,” DeJesus said. “Everybody knows me as an outgoing guy. That’s why I’m good at what I do. It’s kind of awkward now. It’s hi and bye.”Such is the state of existence for many of the 35,000 residential building employees — which also include handymen and porters — who were deemed essential workers by the state when the shelter-in-place order was implemented.has added a frightening layer of risk to what are considered among the most coveted working class positions in New York City, with a median annual salary of $52,000 and a contract that provides an employer-paid healthcare plan and a pension.more than 200 residential building staff members had contracted COVID-19 and 39 of them had died, according to Local 32BJ, the branch of the Service Employees International Union that represents the workers. It’s a higher death rate than the New York Police Department, which has lost 42 members to the virus out of a workforce of 55,000. Turnover is low as most employees stay with their buildings for decades. The longevity in the jobs creates a bond with residents, who depend on the workforce to bring civility, safety and a sense of community to their lives. “It is not by any stretch of the imagination a typical employer-employee relationship,” said Howard Rothschild, president of the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, which negotiates the master contract with the doormen’s union as well as the city’s office building workers.Building management companies and the board have tried to be mindful of the relationship workers have with their employers as they seek to adapt to the challenges brought on by the health crisis. The board adjusted the current contract, expanding the amount of paid time off for employees who are exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace, and publicly stating its intention to protect workers and preserve jobs during the economic shutdown.commuting to their jobs . Many of the employees at Manhattan residences travel in from the outer boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, which all have a much higher number of coronavirus cases. “There was a lot of fear over coming home and infecting their family members,” said John Santos, vice president and New York Metro District residential director for Local 32BJ. The union’s contract has been amended to allow workers to go from five eight-hour shifts per week to three 12-hour shifts, to reduce the number of commutes, while building owners absorb the cost of a shorter work week. Some but not all employers have also reimbursed their workers who choose to use ride-sharing services or parking for their own vehicles to avoid mass transit.To help meet the demand for protective personal equipment, building owners banded together to make bulk purchases of face masks and gloves, said Dennis DePaola, executive vice president and general counsel for Orsid Realty Corp., which manages 175 residential properties that employ 2,000 people throughout the New York City region.
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