Year end means 32B-32J contract expires.

It's beginning to look a lot like the happy holiday season, but at midnight on New Year's Eve, commercial buildings had better not drop the ball - and be fully prepared for a service employees strike.

That's when the contract achieved with Local 32B-32J of the International Service Employees Union of the AFL-CIO after the long strike and bitter Blizzard of '96 comes to an end for all 30,000 handypersons, doormen, elevator operators and other building maintenance workers who provide services to the commercial buildings.

The superintendent's contract does not end until January 31, 1999, and no matter what happens with contract talks, they are expected to work at least until that time. Security guards covered by the 1996 agreement are expected to work until February 28, 1999.

The Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations (RAB) represents 4,000 member residential and commercial buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk counties and Northern New Jersey, and acts as the collective bargaining agent for its member buildings.

The residential division completed its own contract negotiations a year ago, and those buildings and workers are not directly affected by the upcoming bargaining and any contract achieved. Those workers most recently walked out on strike for 12 days in 1991.

For the 1,000 largest commercial owners, the agreement reached three years ago was a milestone, because for the first time, new hires and vacation relief workers were allowed to be paid less than experienced employees.

In fact, the issue that caused Union President Gus Bevona and his board to call the strike in 1996 was their direct opposition to this wage payment scale, which did not even affect any of the then union members.

Those members, many of whom had developed long-time friendships with the building managers, suffered with $7 a day in strike pay so long as they showed up in that bitterly cold month to walk picket lines over the humongous mounds of snow that filled the streets and sidewalks of the city.

Despite the unrelenting weather, building owners were well prepared for that strike. By having back-up plans in place before hand, they were able to quickly make them operational so as to maintain their high standards of building services for their tenants.

To settle that strike, it took the intervention of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who met with both sides himself, and brought in current Deputy Mayor Randy Levine, who was then a baseball negotiator, to act as a mediator. Even U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich stopped by during a Big Apple visit to provide some guidance for owners and the union, who finally came to an official agreement on Sunday, February 4, 1996.

That pact led to new hires being paid 80 percent of the minimum wage rate of the current employees for a period of 30 months, with vacation workers making 60 percent of that minimum wage.

Owner representatives would be expected to try to stretch out and reduce those pay scales, or even add further interim steps before those hires achieve pay and benefit parity with experienced workers.

Union reps, however, will be seeking to shorten the new hire's time on the job before achieving parity, and also raise their salaries.

Porters and elevator operators in a Class A office building now make $619.48 a week or $15.49 an hour. The annual wage is $32,212.96. But they also get many benefits and holidays, and the health, pension and annuity costs come to $7,712.64, so the annual cost of an employee comes to $48,623.89 per porter. They get 12 paid holidays, an average of 15 vacation days, 10 sick days and one or two days for medical visits, if necessary.

In commercial buildings there is a weekend premium of half time pay, so to fill one spot 7 days a week, totalling 7 shifts, it costs $991.17 a week, or $51,540 for one slot for a seven day operation.

Of course, the current union members will want higher wages, while other issues will probably be benefit based. The workers will be pointing to significant reductions in vacancies and increases in tenant rents and owner bottom lines.

Like everyone else in America, union members will want a better medical plan with lower prescription medicine costs; higher pensions and retirement home benefits; longer vacations; and of course, less work with more workers on their teams.

The most recent residential contract actually caused what is known as a PPO-type health plan to be implemented for all the workers, including those in the commercial sector. Under this plan, they have a choice of seeing any one of 4,500 board certified doctors, yet only pay $10 per visit.

James F. Berg, the RAB's president, said the costs for the members are so low because unlike other health plans, they pay the doctors quickly and at a fair reimbursement rate. The 60,000 union members translates into a 250,000-person health plan when families are taken into account. The doctors not only have a source of business, but a reliable income.

Berg, however, declined to speculate on any negotiating tactics or goals for the owners, other than to keep their costs down.

"I think the issues are primarily economic, and some contract language items," he said. Despite what appears to be a tight time-frame, and no formal meetings scheduled as of deadline, Berg predicted "There is plenty of time to reach an agreement."

The union is expected to meet with its members this week to draw up its wish-list.

The two sides have already had very informal telephone discussions, and since there is an ongoing relationship with no change in leadership, the face-to-face talks are not expected to get heated.

"There is only so much yelling you can do," said Berg.

But there is always a flash point at which either side could walk out, or the union could formally strike.

"A strike could always happen," Berg warned. "There is a point at which they have no alternative, and where we have no alternative."

If that happens, he cautioned, "The union will be more ready this time. Whatever we learned during the strike, they learned."

For that reason, Berg wants to be sure the owners are also prepared, with strike action plans in place.

"It's important that owners are ready, because when we talk at the table, you have to know the army is behind you," he explained.

That doesn't mean preparing to attack, but owners certainly, like scouts, should be prepared to defend the buildings, systems, tenants and delivery personnel from the influence of any strikers and picket lines by making sure it's business as usual.

Tenants should be kept well informed and not be left feeling isolated or hostile. Communication should parallel the negotiations between the RAB and the union.

Tenants should be notified that there could be a strike prior to the contract's expiration. As the expiration date approaches, they should be assured essential services will be maintained and be advised of any modifications regarding cleaning, deliveries and safety. If the contract expires and a strike is called, they should be apprised that bargaining sessions are being held and efforts are being made to reach a fair and equitable settlement.

Calls to the union spokesperson and president Bevona were not returned before deadline.

The RAB has strike preparedness manuals and more detailed information available by calling [phone], or through its website at www.rabolr.com.

The first informational forum for RAB members is scheduled for Tuesday, December 22nd at 8 a.m. at the office of Proskauer Rose LLP at 1585 Broadway.