Elevator strike catches industry off guard

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 10, 1993 by Lois Weiss

A strike by Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers last Thursday afternoon took the industry by surprise. The workers walked out after voting down a new contract 742 to 245 at their Flushing meeting hall. Their last contract expired on Halloween.

Local 3, a division of the electrical workers, represents elevator repair personnel at most of the major service companies in the city, such as New York Elevator, Millar and Flynn-Hill. Manufacturers, such as Otis Elevator, are represented by Local 1, the union of elevator constructors, that acts as the umbrella union for the elevator industry. So far, they are unaffected.

One individual who is familiar with the companies and the unions said if the repair companies resort to bringing in "old Local 1's," as they are quietly discussing, "things could get nasty." Additionally, sources believe the building maintenance division would also strike if scab labor was called in. Right now, the companies are handling all repair calls with management.

According to Richard Wheeler, chairman of the Employers Negotiating Committee that represents 37 of about 60 companies affected said, "The union has indicated cooperation in truly emergency situations."

The strike took both workers and companies by surprise. Wheeler said: "We thought we had an agreement with the negotiating committee." A repair company, whose spokesperson asked that it not to be identified because "there's a lot at stake here," would only say, "We're in shock."

Among the thousands of buildings that could be affected are the Empire State Building. where a modernization program was within a few months of completion. said a union representative.

Rockefeller Center is not affected, said a spokesperson, as they do not use Local 3.

Elevators in most buildings that do employ Local 3 workers will stay in service as supervisors are handling repair calls.

Worker Issues

There were several issues that union members did not like in the proposed contract, said a spokesperson. Rather than getting time and a half for hours after 4:30 p.m., the contract would have begun "shift work," at 110 percent of day work.

This means a worker would be paid for eight hours, even if they did nothing. Right now, a worker gets time and a half only for the time actually worked during the night. While this item may have employed more people overall, the current workers with day jobs would see their overtime pay diminish to almost nothing. Currently, there are 1,850 people employed, about 400 union members are available for work and no new "green apprentices" are being hired.

Another contract point was that pay for new workers coming from the unemployment bench or in lieu of a layoff would be 80 percent of regular wages.

There was also a "length of service" question for seniority. The new contract would require workers to be on the job for three years before it would be counted.