Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ commercial office cleaners celebrate a new contract agreement.
2,000 cleaners in Wilmington, New Castle County, and Suburban Philadelphia in Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ reach a new contract agreement with building owners and contractors.
The current Delaware contract was set to expire Friday. The parties were at odds over wages and vacation time- prompting weeks of negotiations, and rallies in Wilmington and Conshohocken.
The new agreement consolidates the Delaware and Suburban Philadelphia contracts into a single agreement
SEIU 32BJ Mid-Atlantic District Director Daisy Cruz says the two entities previously bargained with many of the same employees in the area.
“Both agreements expire in December, one on December 15th and one on December 30th. Both always bargained separate so we just looked into it this year and decided to merge the agreements,” explained Cruz. “They pretty much work for the same people, do the same exact work, so it just made it easier all around to bargain both agreements at the same time.”
That merge is permanent.
The new agreement includes the highest wage increases in the union’s history - with over 20% in raises promised over the course of the 4 year deal.
Cruz says that’s a big win for workers, some of whom have been part of contract negotiations for 10 to 15 years.
“These workers were making minimum wage- some of them as low as $5 an hour when they first organized themselves for these agreements. And they’ve fought really hard every 4 years to make economic changes in their lives. Especially during the economic times that we live in. So these are some big wage increases. And these employers bargained in good faith and recognized the hard work of these workers,” she said.
The contract also includes an additional paid holiday, protections for full and part time health benefits, enhanced pregnancy rights protections, and protections for workers displaced by building changes, such as renovations or conversions.
The new contract expires at the end of December 2027.
