NEW YORK, Dec. 28 Manhattan office building workers in New York threatened again Friday to call a New Year's Day strike as negotiations with building owners bogged down.

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 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 are still a long way apart."