Minneapolis janitors who clean some of the biggest buildings for some of the biggest companies in downtown struck a contract agreement Saturday, just two days before an open-ended strike would have started.
SEIU Local 26 president Iris Altamirano said it was a win worth celebrating.
"We cheered, we were so happy," Altamirano said. "I feel there was a mutual respect so we stood up and there was a standing ovation. It's completely different from how it could have gone. We were all just very happy."
What does a group of janitors look like after they reach an amazing tentative agreement at 7am after 22 hours straight of bargaining?This! ---- pic.twitter.com/MtymYMFg4a
— SEIU Local 26 (@SEIU26)
March 7, 2020 The tentative agreement comes after sides negotiated for four months, culminating in a 22-hour bargaining session that ended at 7 a.m. Saturday.
Related Janitors with SEIU Local 26 get support of Minneapolis City Council
According to a
SEIU Local 26 spokesperson, the highlights of the four-year agreement include:
- Wage increases of $2.20 over the course of the contract for full time workers, with some part time workers going from $11.12 to $16 over the life of the contract
- Moving all full-time workers to six paid sick days by the second year of the contract
- Won funding towards a Labor-Management Cooperation Fund that will work towards a green education initiative
- Reduces cost of health insurance for individuals and families
- Incorporates sexual harassment policies into contract
With Saturday's agreement, 6,000 of the 8,000 SEIU Local 26 members have now settled their contracts, leaving retail janitors and airport passenger service workers as the two biggest groups still working to reach deals.
