4,000 janitors with SEIU Local 26 who say they'll strike Monday at 5 p.m. received a boost in support Thursday morning from the Minneapolis City Council.
The janitors, who clean some of the biggest buildings for the biggest corporations in downtown Minneapolis, have been negotiating contracts for months.
"We do not want to on strike on Monday," said SEIU Local 26 president Iris Altamirano. "We are prepared to do something we don't want to do."
Minneapolis Council vice president Andrea Jenkins applauded efforts by the janitors who are fighting for better wages.
"As much as we have an affordable housing crisis, we also have a crisis in the ability to afford the housing," Jenkins said.
Other issues holding up negotiations include sick days and investments in a green training program to better help the environment.
Talks between both sides resumed Wednesday one week after the janitors conducted a 24-hour unfair labor practices strike.
"We saw progress on sick days that we already thought we had made progress on," Altamirano said. "But we need to see more."
SEIU Local 26 says the threat of the novel coronavirus adds to the urgency to reach a deal with contractors, something Ward 3 Councilman Steve Fletcher reiterated.
"We are facing a global and local pandemic," Fletcher said. "And the people who clean our offices are asking for paid sick days so they don't come into work if they aren't feeling well. That's something we should all want them to have."
Negotiations are expected to continue into Friday, but there are no other planned days for both sides talk afterwards.