Washington, D.C. – On Friday, low-wage security officers and janitors represented by 32BJ of the Service Employees International (SEIU) celebrated the first minimum wage increase, made possible by Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council’s #FightFor15 legislation. 32BJ is part of the Fight for $15 movement that’s helping workers in more than 190 cities, 33 countries and 6 continents.

“The Mayor and the Council have set an example for the nation to follow with one of the nation’s highest minimum wages to provide a critical lifeline to help move workers off public programs and generate critical economic activity,” said 32BJ Vice President, Jaime Contreras. “The difference that $15 an hour can make for so many struggling families cannot be underestimated. In an age of Trump and under this Congress, low-wage workers have only their local government to rely on.”

With more than 163,000 members in nine states, including 18,000 in the D.C. Metropolitan Area and Baltimore, MD, 32BJ SEIU is the largest property service workers union in the country.

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