Laid-off employees banded together with residents to picket the Galaxy Towers condo complex in Guttenberg last week. The three-building complex holds most of the residents of the tiny town, and also includes a strip mall.
On Monday Aug 1 and Tuesday Aug 2, the former employees marched together outside the property at 7000 Kennedy Blvd.
The pickets took place after the board for the towers replaced roughly 60 unionized employees who worked in custodial, security, and other departments.
“Where’s the value in trust and respect?” – Marc Arroyo
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Residents said that some of the workers had been there 25 years or more.
“These people are like family here,” said resident Mike Deluca. “We’ve watched their kids grow up, and they just threw them out in the street.”
Board makes a controversial decision
On July 12, Galaxy employees received a letter from the Galaxy Towers Condominium Association informing them that they would be terminated and their jobs would be outsourced at a reduced rate. The decision was in an effort to cut costs.
The letter was posted on www.galaxy-facts.com, a website run by Deluca.
“…Galaxy has determined to no longer be engaged in the direct employment of employees in the Security, Garage, Front Services, and Custodial Departments and has made the difficult decision to engage an external vendor Planned Building Services to provide these activities,” the letter reads.
The letter also indicates that employees will be offered an interview for potential employment with Planned Building Services, but the job might include a pay decrease and cut ties with the union.
The people respond
On Monday, the employees picketed for approximately two hours while Guttenberg police waited nearby.
They could be heard chanting “Union, Yes; Slava, No” while passersby honked their support. Slava Lerner and other Galaxy Board members could not be reached for comment.
Deluca said he is currently collecting signatures for a petition from residents.
“When we come home now we have to show our I.D.,” added Deluca. “They don’t know anybody. These [former employees] people know us.”
Deluca also said some of the employees had been working there for 25 to 30 years.
“They know us all. They do lots of things for us,” said Barbara Tokay, a Galaxy resident for 20 years, who indicated that she would pay more to keep the former employees.
“Where’s the value in trust and respect?” asked Marc Arroyo in reference to the board’s justification that their decision helped cut costs. Arroyo worked in security for eight years.
“I’m very disappointed in what’s going on here,” said Robert Aguilar, a doorman for the building for 17 years. “I’ve seen kids born here who are done with college. I love this place.”
Aguilar continued, “We’re going to fight very hard to come back.”
The union recently filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board with the hopes that the workers can receive an injunction and be reinstated.
Board has other troubles as well
The current change in employees is not the only controversy surrounding Galaxy Towers this summer.
The Galaxy Towers Condominium Association is also fighting a proposed project from developer Appleview LLC. Appleview plans to construct a residential complex that would be built near the Towers and 20 feet from a major natural gas pipeline.
The project was already approved by the North Bergen Planning Board and awaits an Aug. 17 hearing from the Hudson County Planning Board.
Watch hudsonreporter.com for more updates.
Stephen LaMarca may be reached at slamarca@hudsonreporter.com.