New York, NY – Some workers at buildings receiving city subsidies of more than $1 million would be guaranteed wages of more than $20 an hour under a bill the New York City Council is expected to approve on Wednesday.
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The measure would guarantee that cleaners, porters and other building workers at some developments that benefit from city funds would be paid the prevailing wage established for their job classification by the city comptroller.
The bill would apply to buildings receiving more than $1 million in city funds and to large buildings where the city leases more than half the space. There would be exceptions protecting small businesses, nonprofits and owners of affordable housing. Only future deals would be covered by the new rules, which would guarantee experienced cleaners and porters at the largest office buildings at least $22.65 an hour.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg promised Tuesday to veto the measure, calling it “terrible legislation.” But City Council spokeswoman Zoe Tobin said the bill has enough support to override a veto.
Earlier versions applied to a larger number of buildings and prompted objections from the real estate industry.
Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, said Tuesday the current measure addresses the major concerns of the industry and reduces the chances of discouraging investment and job creation. Still, he warned, legislation that imposes wage mandates increases employer costs and the risk of fewer jobs and tax revenue.
It was not clear Tuesday how many workers would be affected by the measure.
Maia Davis, a spokeswoman for 32BJ, the union that represents building workers, said 90 percent of the workers at the city’s commercial office buildings already receive the prevailing wage.
“New York City taxpayers expect their economic development dollars to go toward creating good jobs and a broadly shared prosperity,” 32BJ President Mike Fishman said in a statement. “Making sure companies benefiting from taxpayer subsidies pay the same rates as their private-sector counterparts is simply fair policy.”
This is terrible! While it sounds nice- people will be making a minimum wage, if the job isn’t worth 20+, it shouldn’t earn that!!!
It just causes a rise of costs all around to balance out so it is worthless in the end.
This is appropriate seeing that these builders are already being subsidized by our tax dollars. Give them a living wage so we don’t end up subsidizing the builders AND the workers with our hard earned tax dollars.
It looks lilke alot of co-op buildings are going to get hit with a big increase in maintenance costs. If they co-op receives any kind of tax break or other “subsidy” from the city, then it seems they’re going to have to pay their maintenance workers quite a bit more. I think apartment dwellers are going to get hit with a bigger monthly maintenance bill.
While they are at it, why not mandate that no one’s monthly Con Ed bill exceed $20, and that every one who lives in NYC be paid a minimum of $100k a year? … Why stop there, lets pass a law that July and August cannot be too hot and legislate a legal limit to the snow here and not to forget that the winter is forbidden till December and exits March the second on the dot; by law make it that summer must linger through September. Where does the City Council think we live?
And the building owners will pass it on to the renters.
Taxing NYC residents to death and kissing up to the union bosses.
I just don’t understand one thing, if the worker feels he is not being paid the right price for his work why doesn’t he leave his job? Did anyone force him to stay on? Why does everything need to be a law in this City? Why is big brother getting involved in everything?
In today’s days, living in NYC, what is $20 hour anyway? (and that’s B4 taxes)