The Maintenance Contractors of New England reached an agreement with the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ on Friday for a new, four-year contract for janitors in Greater Boston, according to a statement from Matt Ellis, a spokesperson for MCNE.
Over the past week, the threat of a strike that would include nearly 13,000 janitorial workers loomed as the union negotiated higher wages for workers that maintain nearly 2,000 Boston buildings, The Daily Free Press reported on Wednesday. Some buildings these workers clean include the Prudential Center and the John Hancock Tower, according to a press release from the union.
On Friday, a four-year-long commercial cleaning contract expired, allowing an opportunity for janitorial workers to negotiate to receive higher wages than they did when the contract was established during an economic recession, according to the release.
The demand for a rise in wages and better hours corresponds to the increasing cost of living in Boston, according to Eugenio Villasante, a spokesperson for the union.
“The cost of living around here is really, really high,” Villasante said. “To be able to support their families they need healthcare, and they need to make sure they have enough hours.”
The union also negotiated for better benefits for the janitors, according to Villasante.
“This is about getting wages and benefits for the workers who clean almost 2,000 buildings in the Boston region, like office buildings and many colleges as well,” Villasante said.
Roxana Rivera, the vice president of the union, explained in the press release that Boston’s janitors deserve to earn high enough wages to thrive in the city, not just scrape by.
“The promise of America is for everyone, including the thousands of men and women who clean office buildings and college campuses in Massachusetts,” Rivera said in the release. “Hard working Americans like us deserve to make more than a decent living – we deserve a decent life.”
Now, four years after the last contract was negotiated, the Massachusetts economy is thriving and vacancy rates in Boston’s office buildings have dropped almost back to their pre-recession levels, according to the release.
The janitors for these buildings believe that they should also gain the perks of today’s healthy economy, according to Villasante.
“They were just asking for what is fair,” Villasante said, “A lot of national companies are making tons of money … and these workers should be able to share in the wealth they helped create.”
When the negotiations ended Friday night, both parties were satisfied with the agreed upon contract.
“We believe this contract is good for the union and its members, and is in the best interest of the Greater Boston real estate community. The MCNE is satisfied with the outcome of the agreement,” Ellis said in a statement.
Several Boston residents agreed that the demand for higher wages was justified.
Aya Abdelaal, 24, of East Boston, said she understands that living in Boston means having a job that pays well.
“It’s affordable if you have the right job, but still very expensive,” she said.
Paul Feeney, 59, of Allston, described his own strife as a security worker, claiming to receive similar low pay and low benefits as the janitorial workers.
“I don’t think I am [given a fair wage],” Feeney said. “I don’t get what I think I should.”
Erini Katopodis, 21, of Allston, said she appreciates the work janitors do around Boston and thinks they deserve higher wages.
“Boston is not a clean city,” she said. “It’s basically like a small, more compact New York, but it’s still dirty, and there’s so much danger involved in being a janitor, like with the waste they’re handling, that they should be paid much more.”
Anna Waldzinska contributed to the reporting of this article.
