Published: August 6, 2010

Janitors and landscapers at the University of Miami are mobilizing for an on-campus rally after university contractor Unicco Services proposed wage and benefit freezes last week, according to union officials.

The union that organizes the workers, the Service Employees International Union, had asked Unicco last week for higher pay, continued health coverage and more vacation time -- including Martin Luther King Day off -- once their existing four-year contract expires Aug. 31.

The rally is planned for 11 a.m. Aug. 21 at the St. Bede Episcopal Chapel on campus.

SEIU spokespeople refused to share exact figures so they could bargain for the best contract possible, they said.

Unicco rejected the union's request and instead proposed to freeze workers' wages and benefits for the next year, said Eric Brakken, Florida director of 32BJ SEIU.

Unicco spokespeople declined to comment on the details, but James Canavan, vice president of labor relations, e-mailed a general statement: ``UGL Unicco is hopeful that we can reach a new agreement and resolve the issues that are within the subject of these discussions.''

In 2006, the union won its first contract with Unicco after a two-month labor strike that escalated into a hunger strike. After that dispute, janitors' starting pay was set at $9.05 per hour and landscapers' at $9.80.

But Miami's cost of living has risen since 2006, and the workers' wages should rise as well, Brakken said. If they are still dissatisfied by their contract Sept. 1, they might strike again.