Page 6 - NJ Cooperator Fall 2020

6 THE NEW JERSEY COOPERATOR —FALL 2020 NJCOOPERATOR.COM MANAGEMENT While residents of condos, co-ops, and infectant, and plexiglass partitions into properties were happy to be employed HOAs do their part to prevent the spread budgets that in many cases were already at a time when millions of other Ameri- of COVID-19 by staying in their homes as tight. Given all of these challenges—and cans were losing their jobs, they still had much as they can, they rely on the supers, in light of the tough, important work that to contend with the risks of contracting porters, valets, doorpeople, janitorial they do for the communities they serve— workers, handymen and -women, secu- rity personnel, managerial staff, mainte- nance workers, and others to leave their secure, and supported. homes to keep these multifamily commu- nities safe, clean, and operational. But over these last six months, as the crisis, world has been in the grips of the coro- navirus crisis, property service workers communications manager for 32BJ SEIU, the spring, PPE was in woefully short sup- around the country have been dealing the largest property workers union in the ply, residents who were normally at work with heavier and more intense workloads, country. She explained that in New York, or school were now confined to the build- ever-shifting regulations, and supply-line there were early agreements with the Re- shortages making it harder to carry out alty Advisory Board (RAB) to extend sick inconsistent, to say the least. their essential duties—all while dealing pay for workers, incorporate guidance with the same fear and uncertainty that from the Centers for Disease Control and and emotional strain \\\[on\\\] the guys” at the this virus and its outcomes have inflicted Prevention (CDC) for employee protec- on all of us. Meanwhile, boards and property man- agers have been adjusting to new gov- ernance procedures; incorporating the fill shortages where staff needed to quar- shifting regulatory guidance from mul- tiple levels of government into their poli- cies; dealing with pressure from residents concerns and were therefore staying home and managers offered accommodation to reopen amenities; and figuring out or isolated. how to incorporate personal protective equipment (PPE), foggers, gallons of dis- it is more important than ever to ensure mute to and from work—which by and that property staff continue to feel safe, large involved either public transporta- In the Beginning At the beginning of the coronavirus become municipally mandated. And their The New Jersey Cooperator spoke risks didn’t end when they got to work: as to Carolina González, New York regional states and municipalities locked down in tion, and allow flexible staffing in order ness of residential building employees’ re- to employ workers laid off from buildings lationships with those who live in and op- in the commercial or office sector, or to erate their workplaces gave many workers antine after exposure to or contraction of ity of service” that their jobs require. And the virus, or if they had underlying health across the nation, many boards, residents, According to González, while most workers with free parking (made available 32BJ members working in residential when many owners with cars fled urban and spreading the virus on their com- tion or carpooling, at a time when mask wearing and social distancing had not ings, and official guidance was sparse and Although there was “a lot of mental time, González expressed that the close- the motivation to maintain the “continu- and appreciation to their property service apartments for more spacious and isolat- ed living situations), hot meals, evening applause, and PPE donations. At The Residences at Pier 4 in Bos- ton, for example, general manager Jeremy DiFlaminies with FirstService Residen- tial enlisted his wife to sew upwards of 60 masks for building staff. Residents of Seward Park Cooperative in lower Man- hattan organized a fund to provide meals to staff under a partnership with the co-op’s commercial tenant restaurants— thereby supporting local businesses, keeping their own commercial tenants afloat, and offering appreciation to their hard-working building employees in one fell swoop. And in Miami, a group of con- do boards called the Brickell Alliance or- ganized two first-responders appreciation events with banners and a parade of cars honking for the police, firefighters, EMTs, and their own building service workers on the front lines of the pandemic. A Unified Approach According to Brickell Alliance presi- dent Marta Arnold, who serves on the board of The Palace condo building, her board worked with their management company, KW Property Management & Consulting, to make proactive decisions at the onset of the coronavirus crisis. She says that since certain workers at the con- do’s three towers—including front desk, security rovers, and gate personnel—are employees of KW, while others—like va- let and cleaning staff—are subcontracted from outside vendors, it was important to line up protocols and procedures to “make sure that everyone is on the same page.” After the Alliance impressed upon the city of Miami the importance of designat- ing building service workers as ‘essential’ employees who could continue to go to work in the event of shutdowns or cur- fews, they were able to come up with uni- fied regulations and guidelines to share among the condos. Even though the 20 or so buildings in the Alliance have differ- ent structures, populations, and facilities, approaching the ever-changing landscape of the crisis cooperatively proved effective in encouraging compliance and fostering a sense of assurance—from both residents and staff of the buildings. Supporting Essential Building Workers How to Show Your Staff You Care BY DARCEY GERSTEIN continued on page 16