7,000 Janitors in the State to Begin Contract Negotiations

 Office buildings across the state could see strikes if negotiations over living wages, health insurance and benefits go poorly

WHAT: Press conference to support janitors fighting for a fair contract.

WHO: Hundreds of 32BJ SEIU janitors will be joined by elected officials, allies— including the Working Families Party of NJ, Make the Road NJ – and elected officials – including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Hoboken Mayor Ravinder Bhalla, Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz, Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake, Newark City Council President Mildred C. Crump, Jersey City Council President Rolando Lavarro, Parsippany-Troy Hills Mayor Michael Soriano, Morristown Mayor Timothy Dougherty

WHEN: Thursday, October 17 at 12:00pm

WHERE: 32BJ SEIU New Jersey Headquarters, 494 Broad St., 3^rd Fl., Newark, N.J. 07102. **Parking garage attached to building at Atlantic St.**

NEWARK, N.J. — 32BJ SEIU, the largest property services union in the country, will open bargaining for 7,000 janitors who clean more than 500 buildings throughout the state on Thursday, October 17 at the union’s Newark offices. Before negotiations begin, more than 200 janitors will be joined by mayors and elected officials from multiple districts in a show of support for the bargaining demands. If the union and the employers do not come to an agreement by the contract’s expiration at midnight on December 31, thousands of workers who clean New Jersey businesses could strike.

As New Jersey’s economy is booming, the janitors at the bargaining table are majority women, parents, people of color and immigrants who are the backbone of this economy. Given New Jersey’s roaring real estate market, employers have the resources to provide workers with living wages. Buildings that 32BJ SEIU members clean, including Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Pfizer have saved billions on 2018 taxes combined due to President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Construction projects in Essex and Hudson counties are thriving and vacancy rates at office buildings are at record lows.

32BJ SEIU janitors clean the state’s largest, most essential office buildings and transit hubs, including Newark’s Prudential Center, the PATH stations, Allergan, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Merck and Bristol Meyers-Squibb. Landmark buildings include the Goldman Sachs Tower and Novartis’s 1 Health Plaza.

According to a financial hardship study called ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), a family of four needs to earn a whopping $74,748/year, at minimum, to simply survive in New Jersey. The median wage for 32BJ SEIU janitors at $15.55/hour—yielding $32,240/year— is far below the survival wage. At the bargaining table this year, 32BJ SEIU janitors seek to close this gap by asking for higher wages. Without meaningful wages and benefits outlined in the collective bargaining agreement that covers full and part-time employees, working people could be forced into poverty.

Workers will negotiate to maintain quality, employer-paid family healthcare, currently afforded by their contract. They will fight to increase paid sick time.

Members will speak on issues facing working people, including health insurance, wages and protections against sexual harassment in workplace.

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With more than 175,000 members, including 13,000 in New Jersey, 32BJ is the largest property service union in the country.