A New York City Doormen Strike Could Mean Piles of Trash — Here's What Else Could Happen
New York City high-rise owners were locked in deliberation with the doormen union after building workers asked for more pay. Here's what could happen in a strike.
April 21 2026, Published 5:37 p.m. ET
One of the stabilizing forces that keeps things running smoothly in New York City is the doormen and other workers in high-rise apartment buildings. Doormen let guests into the building and keep out unwanted visitors.
They also accept packages and sometimes even set groceries and dry cleaning inside residents' apartments. They hail cabs, collect trash, keep spare keys, help with repairs, and facilitate furniture deliveries and moves. And, of course, they greet guests with a smile every day. Here's what we know about their potential strike in April 2026.
Members of SEIU Local 32B-32J union on strike in 1991
Why were New York City doormen considering a strike?
The union that represents building workers, 32BJ SEIU, was locked in deliberations with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations (RAB, which represents the owners and operators of New York Real Estate), in late April 2026. According to Vanity Fair, doormen were mainly asking for wage increases, pension improvements, and to put a stop to a proposal that would put more healthcare costs on workers.
RAB argued that they couldn't afford to raise wages because of Mayor Mamdani's promise to freeze rent on rent-stabilized apartments. The 32BJ President called this response insulting and tone deaf, as many union members are struggling to get by.
Two members of the doormen union on strike in 1991, wearing hats
Thankfully, RAB and the union were able to make a tentative deal ahead of the deadline, according to The City. The deal is a tentative four-year agreement: wage increases will total $4.50 an hour by the end of 2030, there will be a 15% pension increase, and workers won't have to share premiums for health benefits.
What would happen in a New York City doormen strike?
The last time New York City doormen went on strike was in 1991, and the strike lasted for 12 days, according to Vanity Fair. With no doormen to dispose of residents' trash, so much waste piled up that the mayor at the time, David Dinkins, had to declare a public health emergency. Pests could not be fumigated, and sanitation workers wouldn't cross picket lines to retrieve trash from apartment buildings.
People could not move in or out of their apartments, so some New Yorkers who were in the middle of a move were stuck paying rent for both their new and old apartments.
In anticipation of the potential strike at the end of April 2026, some building owners asked residents to volunteer to take shifts overseeing the lobby. Some hired private security and planned to issue ID cards or QR codes for residents to facilitate entry into buildings.
If doormen were to go on strike, trash would likely pile up as it did in 1991, and residents would have to go to delivery offices to receive packages, since UPS and FedEx could refuse to cross picket lines.
According to Curbed, one co-op said that residents should not entertain guests unless it was for religious purposes. They also banned deliveries and told guests not to use the laundry room, since they couldn't get any machines fixed if they broke down.
Some buildings asked residents to keep all of their recycling inside their apartments and to volunteer to take trash away themselves in the case of a strike.