Coral Gables, Fl—With their contract set to expire on August 31st, hundreds of cleaners and landscapers at the University of Miami took their fight to the streets today and authorized their union’s bargaining committee to call for a strike if the Boston based contractor UNICCO refuses their demands for fair wage increases and improved benefits.
“These hard working men and women have seen their wages remain stagnant while the cost of living has gone up,” said Eric Brakken, 32BJ SEIU Director for Florida.
Contract talks between the cleaners and groundskeepers at the University of Miami and UNICCO have remained stalled as the cleaning contractor put forth unfair and unacceptable freezes on wages, health care, and other benefits that the nearly 400 workers and their families rely on to make ends meet.
Workers at the University of Miami, including cleaners and landscapers, are fighting for a fair wage increase, an increase in the minimum wage rate and to secure their health insurance seeking a new contract that keeps up with the cost of living in South Florida. In the four years since the last contract, the consumer price index in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area jumped an 8.2 percent. The cost of housing, food and other everyday items is up more than 9 percent.
Today’s strike vote took place on the Bede Episcopal Chapel in Coral Gables, following a rally. Failure to reach a new agreement by August 31st could lead to a strike of nearly 400 workers at the campus of the University of Miami and the Sylvester Cancer Center, greatly impacting the daily routine of thousands of students and faculty. Another bargaining session is scheduled for August 23rd.
The bargaining committee, represented by 32BJ SEIU, is looking for fair wage increases, maintained health care coverage and more paid sick days in the new contract. Under the current contract, the workers receive employer-paid health care, and the starting wages for cleaners are $9.05 an hour, but despite the increasing cost of living in Miami, UNICCO’s proposal offered an across the board wages and benefits freeze.
In the spring of 2006, cleaners at the University of Miami held a nine-week strike because of unfair labor practices, substandard pay, lack of health benefits and workplace safety issues. The strike ended with recognition of the workers’ union, which ultimately led to a union contract that increased wages and provided health care and other benefits.
With more than 120,000 members in eight states and Washington, D.C., including South Florida, 32BJ is the largest property services union in the country.
updated 8/21/2010
