BRONX, N.Y. – Congressman José Serrano is supporting the efforts of SEIU 32BJ, which is in negotiations for a new long-term contract to cover more than 3,000 Bronx apartment building workers. Management has put on the table proposals for cuts to health care, retirement savings, and other benefits.
Said Serrano, “Painful cuts like the ones being proposed here are not welcome in any economy… and with the cost of living in this city going up across the board, to try to force Bronx workers and their families to give up the benefits they’ve earned is simply unacceptable. Once those benefits are lost, they are never coming back-and that is why the union is prepared to take whatever action will result in a fair contract.”
Serrano was referring to the fact that the union has voted to authorize a strike, if necessary to protect their jobs.
He continued, “I wholeheartedly support the union members in my district fighting against these punishing cuts; and I urge all parties involved to find a swift resolution that does not ask working families to make unreasonable sacrifices because of a fragile economy. New York’s housing and real estate market will recover, but the health care and retirement owed to these workers will never recover from the cuts proposed here.”
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