The Service Employees International Union, representing 26,000 janitors, doormen and other office building workers, and building owners scheduled another negotiating session for Friday.

The union seeks a substantial pay raise because New York is such an expensive city to live in, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported.

A four-hour session ended Thursday with little progress, both sides said. Building representatives urged the union to scale back its demands for raises exceeding the rate of inflation -- 4.3 percent nationally over 12 months.

Mike Fishman, Local 32BJ's president, told the Times progress was being made but "we're still a long way apart."