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By JERRY GLEESON
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Published: December 27, 2007
Office building cleaners in the Hudson Valley are scheduled to vote tomorrow in White Plains on whether to strike against cleaning companies once their contract expires at midnight Monday, a union representative said.
Negotiations between Local 32BJ of Service Employees International Union and a dozen employers are scheduled to resume tomorrow morning at the Crowne Plaza in the city. The strike vote is scheduled at the hotel at 4:30 p.m., said Shirley Aldebol, Hudson Valley area director for the union.
A key negotiator for the contractors could not be reached yesterday for comment. Aldebol said both sides are far apart on key issues but stopped short of predicting a walkout next week.
"We need to make that decision as the process moves forward," she said. "Our goal is to get a contract. The goal is not to strike. If we are significantly closer to a contract, we'll make the appropriate decisions at that time."
Local 32BJ represents about 2,000 commercial office cleaners. Their employers are responsible for cleaning a majority of the large office buildings in downtown White Plains, and buildings in Fairfield County, Conn., the union said.
An official for one commercial office developer in Westchester said she was surprised to hear that a walkout is possible next week. Lorraine DeMaria, asset manager for RPW Group in Rye Brook, said her cleaning service had not indicated there could be a problem.
RPW staff at its buildings would handle cleaning if a strike occurs, she said.
"It's not something we like to do, but we still have to maintain our buildings, to do whatever needs to be done," DeMaria said.
Aldebol said a wage offer from the cleaning contractors fell far short of the cost-of-living levels the union was seeking. The union also is looking for full-time work for members who clean buildings greater than 400,000 square feet. Most cleaners work part-time, and must hold two or three jobs to get by, the union said.
Bob Kinsley, vice president for labor relations at American Building Maintenance and a negotiator in the local talks, could not be reached for comment.
Local 32BJ reached a cleaning contract in Hartford, Conn., last week and in Philadelphia in October. Negotiations with cleaners in New York City are scheduled to continue today.
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