Wage Hikes And Family Health Care

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Published on July 01, 2010, 6:57 pm
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Co-Op City apartment building workers have ratified a four-year agreement with a wage increase of 5.6% over the life of the contract, fully employer-paid family health care coverage and pension benefits.

The new contract with RiverBay, the board that oversees Co-Op City operations, covers the 500 porters, handymen, maintenance men, garbage attendants and groundskeepers who maintain the massive complex that is home to some 55,000 New Yorkers.

“The new contract provides these workers what they need to make ends meet,” said Kyle Bragg, 32BJ Vice President. “We’re glad to have in place a multi-year contract that is fair and reasonable to the workers and RiverBay, and one that provides residents with a professional and stable workforce to keep Co-op City clean and running well.”

The contract maintains sick days, overtime, vacation and increases employer contributions to health care by more than 20 percent and pensions by over 30 percent. Wage increases amount to $45 a week.

“Maintaining my health care coverage is essential to me and my family,” said Alexander Vargas, a groundskeeper at Co-op City. “I have a daughter with a heart condition and it’s a relief to know I can afford to take care of her medical needs under this new contract.” The two sides reached a tentative agreement late in the night on June 22, and the workers met on Friday, June 25 and ratified the contract. The RiverBay board is expected to meet today on the matter.

With more than 120,000 members, including 70,000 in New York, 32BJ is the largest private-sector union in the city.

 

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Jonas Bronck is the pseudonym under which we publish and manage the content and operations of The Bronx Daily.™ | Bronx.com - the largest daily news publication in the borough of "the" Bronx with over 1.5 million annual readers. Publishing under the alias Jonas Bronck is our humble way of paying tribute to the person, whose name lives on in the name of our beloved borough.