Published: December 27, 2007

With four days left on their contract and a potential strike looming, the custodial union representing more than 7,000 office cleaners in New Jersey will sit down at the negotiating table at the Hilton Gateway in Newark this afternoon for the sixth time.

Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, the largest property services union in the country, wants higher wages for its members and an increase in the number who can work full time, which would allow them to receive health care.

The 55 contractors in New Jersey that hire cleaners for commercial buildings have formed a loose coalition to negotiate with the union. Yet little progress has been made since talks began Oct. 29, said Kevin Brown, the union's district chairman.

The contractors have declined to comment on the negotiations.

At a rally in Newark on Dec. 11, members unanimously authorized the union to vote to strike any time after Jan. 1. Similar votes were authorized that week in New York City; Stamford, Conn.; and Washington, D.C.

So far, the union has successfully negotiated new contracts for its members in Philadelphia and Hartford, Conn. In Hartford, both sides agreed on Dec. 20 to a four-year contract that will provide a 17 percent wage increase over 20 years for city workers and a 20 percent gain for suburban cleaners.

The cleaners in Hartford also made gains in the number of employees who will be able to work full time. By 2012, all cleaners at buildings larger than 400,000 square feet will have full-time jobs, and as a result, health care benefits. Part-time workers also will be able to work 25 hours a week instead of the current 20.

"This new contract will provide Hartford's office cleaners the opportunity to live the American dream," said Kurt Westby, Local 32BJ's Connecticut director. "More office cleaners will be able to take their kids to the doctor and have retirement security."

The successful contract renegotiation in Hartford raises hope for the negotiations in New Jersey and New York. However, Brown said the markets here are much larger, and the contractors are less willing to pay more in salaries and health care costs. New York City is the largest commercial office market in the nation; New Jersey ranks fifth, Brown said.
Today is the last day of scheduled negotiations in New Jersey.

The union plans to rally in the streets of Newark at noon and in front of St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church in Morristown at 4 p.m.

"If we're making progress, we're happy to go back to the table any time between now and Jan. 1," Brown said.

"It's not like we want to strike, but we'll do what we need to do."