Mar 20, 2008 6:59 am US/Eastern
Bronx Apartment Workers Striking Over Wages
Reporting
Jay Dow
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
A strike by union workers at hundreds of apartment buildings in the Bronx is making life a little harder for tenants. The workers hit the picket lines Thursday morning in a battle with building owners over wages.
Tenants of one Bronx apartment building rely heavily on Eric Pimental's ability to get things done.
But at midnight, he and some 4,000 other Bronx based residential building employees walked off the job - officially striking over wage and benefit increases.
"None of our guys want to go because we don't get paid," Pimental said.
"The workers cannot survive or keep pace with the cost of living with the contract they're offering us now," added Kyle Bragg, of the Service Employees International Union.
The tenants are caught in the middle.
"This is going to affect garbage, deliveries, and everything," said David Hochhauser, of the local tenant association. "It's really terrible."
"These guys work hard, and they're really good," added Achsah Kaufman. "Their presence here makes all the difference."
On average - the workers make about $5 less per hour than their counterparts in the other boroughs - primarily because in the past, rents, and landlord income levels are lower in the Bronx.
"Our income has shrunk down dramatically," Michael Lauber, President of the Bronx Realty Advisory Board said. "We would like to offer even more money but it's a matter of what you can afford and you have to draw the line as to what you can afford."
But Pimental says that's ridiculous.
"They raised the rent up in this building by 16-percent not long ago in this building. They obviously have the money for it," Pimental told CBS 2.
Workers are expected to begin picketing later this morning.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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