Prompts winter weather advisories as cold air moves in Friday night

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

The union representing about 4,000 commercial janitors in the Twin Cities says it has reached a tentative contract agreement to avoid a Monday strike.

Service Employees International Union Local 26 reported that the agreement was reached after a 22-hour bargaining session with employers that ended at 7 a.m. Saturday.

The two sides had been in negotiations for months. The janitors 

 last week, and had planned an open-ended strike starting on Monday.

According to the union, the tentative four-year agreement includes:

The union said the agreement also incorporates sexual harassment policies, and includes funding toward a green education initiative. The union had sought support for a program to certify workers in more environmentally friendly cleaning methods.

“Because we went on strike and were ready to go on an open-ended strike, we were able to win the largest wage increases we’ve seen for janitors, an increase in sick days and the exciting green education program,” Elia Starkweather, a janitor in downtown Minneapolis, said in a union news release.

The agreement covers janitors who work for more than a dozen employers, and are responsible for cleaning the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and numerous office buildings in the Twin Cities.

Business and Economic News

Minnesota News

Twin Cities News

NewsPartners

MPR News Staff

Author

The union representing about 4,000 commercial janitors in the Twin Cities says it has reached a tentative contract agreement to avoid a Monday strike.


SEIU Local 26 members vote to authorize strike

Twin Cities janitors reach contract agreement, averting Monday strike

Go Deeper.

Like this?