Manny Pastreich

The most significant issue that Manny Pastreich has heard from his 185,000-person building workers union is that they cannot afford to live in the New York region where they work.

“The price of eggs and transportation is real, but the No. 1 cost is housing,” he said. “For our members, the vast majority who live in New York are under severe stress.” 

Since taking the helm of the nation’s largest property services union two years ago, Pastreich has tackled his members’ rising cost of living by negotiating their contracts and supporting legislative measures that produce more housing. 

Last spring, he secured pay raises for thousands of private security officers, who stand guard 24 hours a day in commercial and residential building lobbies, that increased minimum wages from $19 to $23 per hour. The work is often thankless but offers an entry-level position for people who want a career with benefits, often after working previous jobs in which they were delivering food or packages.

“These are the people who keep the city safe, watch over the city, and stay on their post until they’re relieved,” he said. “They’re the complement to the police force. They’re the human element you’re going to see.”

At the same time, Pastreich helped other labor leaders and developers reach a compromise on several housing measures that enabled tax incentives for housing development, prevailing wages for construction labor, and rental protections for tenants.

“We want new developments to have union standards, but we’ve tried to be a very strong voice for building the number of units we need to build to come to an equilibrium,” he said. 

Pastreich’s union also has helped make affordability a key issue in this year’s mayoral race. It hosted a mayoral forum before endorsing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in April. Pastreich hopes New York’s next mayor will counter the Trump administration’s threats to pull federal funding for city institutions and to deport undocumented immigrants.

“We are a union made up of immigrants,” he said. “This is an immigrant city, it always has been, but we all have a role pushing back on the narrative on the role of immigrants, and they’re so valuable.”