Published: December 18, 2009

WILMINGTON, DE -- Janitors in Delaware have won a new contract with wage increases, health insurance, paid vacation and other benefits, after an agreement was reached between their employers and the Service Employees International Union’s Local 32BJ.

After months of negotiations with area cleaning contractors, nearly 800 office cleaners, some of whom currently make as little as $7.25 with no health benefits, will see their wages rise to $9.25 by the end of the two-year contract, and for the first time full-time workers will receive employer-paid health benefits, according to the union.

The contract will raise industry standards at more than three quarters of the commercial office buildings in Wilmington, and New Castle County including Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, said Mike Fishman, president of 32BJ, the largest property service workers union in the country.

The companies that signed the contract include ABM Janitorial Services, Shellville Services, Arthur Jackson Co., Shamrock Building Services, Bravo Building Services, ISS and CSI International.

The two-year contract goes into effect in January for workers in Wilmington and the following January for workers in New Castle County. Under the contract, office cleaners will earn a minimum wage of $8 per hour or receive a raise of at least 40 cents per hour, according to the union.

With more than 110,000 members in eight states and Washington D.C., 32BJ is the largest property service union in the country.