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By STEPHEN MANNING
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Published: December 26, 2007
CHEVY CHASE, Md. (AP) - Office cleaners in Montgomery County and Baltimore are threatening to strike as early as next week if they are not offered substantial pay increases and other benefits in a new contract under negotiation.
The contract between roughly 2,200 workers and the association representing their employers expires on Dec. 31st. Officials at the Service Employees International Union, which represents the office cleaners, say the two sides still differ on the size of pay increases, health care benefits and other issues.
'We are hopeful that we don't have to (strike),"Jaime Contreras, area director for the SEIU 32BJ local, said Wednesday. 'But at this point, we are pretty far apart."
The union is in talks with the Commercial Building Cleaning Contractors Association, which represents cleaning contractors that include Red Coats, American Building Maintenance and Unicco. An attorney for the association did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Contreras said some of the buildings that could be affected include the headquarters of Legg Mason (NYSE:LM) in Baltimore, the Discovery Communications offices in Silver Spring and large office buildings in Bethesda and Rockville.
SEIU branches in other northeast metropolitan areas such as New York are also threatening a strike if they don't get a new contract by Dec. 31. About 4,500 commercial cleaners in Washington are part of the contract talks, but their current agreement lasts until April 30.
The union says wages for cleaners have not kept pace with big price gains in the region's commercial real estate market. The average starting wage in Baltimore is roughly $7.50 per hour, while in Montgomery the average is $8.50 per hour, Contreras said.
Previous contracts included annual raises of about 5 percent, but a recent offer from the contractors association called for increases of about 3.5 percent to 4 percent, Contreras said. He said the union is seeking a much higher percentage, but declined to provide details.
Union officials also want greater access to company-sponsored health plans for workers, many of whom are part-timers who work at night and hold other jobs without health insurance during the day.
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