BY ELIZABETH SANGER
STAFF WRITER

March 24, 2005

As if Cablevision didn't have enough worries, here's another: its 700 unionized food and merchandise employees at Madison Square Garden, working without a contract since mid-2003, are increasingly fed up and going public to reach a settlement and preserve their jobs.

Many provisions of a new pact have been agreed to, including wage hikes and increases in health and pension funds. The major sticking point concerns an interpretation of language over seniority rights.

Since the contract hasn't been resolved, the 226 members of UNITE HERE, Local 100, who had health insurance lost it on Feb. 1, because the company wanted a deal finalized before paying the agreed-upon higher rates. The company said it still is paying into the union's health care fund, but the fund stopped paying employees.

Marisol Thomer, a union organizer, criticized Cablevision yesterday for proposing to pay $600 million to develop the West Side rail yards and prevent a stadium from being built blocks from the Garden, while MSG food workers haven't had a raise in 2 1/2 years.

"They are heartless," she said of Cablevision. "Money is the only thing that matters to them."

She also said customer service is suffering because management refuses to hire workers for overtime. During Big East basketball games on March 10, some VIP customers in suites didn't have food because there was a gap between shifts, she said.

However, a Garden spokeswoman said in response, "Each of our events is appropriately staffed to ensure first-class service for all of our customers."

Laura Ward, a 13-year MSG employee in catering, said, at a city council hearing, that she canceled a recent doctor's appointment for her infant daughter because without insurance she couldn't afford vaccinations. Ward said she believes the Garden is trying to eliminate or weaken unions, to cut costs. The Garden's workers are represented by about 18 unions, but Local 100 covers the largest number.

To be entitled to health insurance, Local 100 members must have worked at least 900 hours the previous year. With the Rangers season scrapped and the Garden closed for two months last summer to prepare for the Republican National Convention, there have been fewer opportunities, and some employees worry they won't have enough hours to get insurance starting June 1 - even if a contract is signed.

Ward said that in past years she has worked 1,300 hours. Since June 1, she has worked 647 hours. The arena usually has more than 300 annual events.

The Garden said it presented another offer earlier this month that improved upon its "previous, generous position," and tried to address the union's concerns. "We hope that the union will accept that offer and we continue to be available to meet," it said in a statement.

But both sides disagree over a key point. Garden executives want to be able to occasionally assign specific employees to certain tasks - a provision it has used one percent of the time, a source close to the negotiations said - while the union wants the most senior people to have first dibs.

"Of all the problems Cablevision is dealing with, ours is the easiest to solve," Thomer said.