The union, SEIU, representing the cleaning staff at over 1,500 city office buildings will decide Thursday if they will strike. Their current contract expires Dec. 31.

“The union says it will not accept management’s proposal for a two-tier wage structure that would pay new hires less than existing workers.”

The Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, which represents management, says New York City’s building workers are the highest paid in the country.

The realty board says that the workers earn an average salary of $47,107 and that the total annual cost per employee, including benefits, is $76,721.

Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111130/LABOR_UNIONS/111139984