Union janitors on Long Island vote to strike if Dec. 31 contract deadline isn't resolved

Unionized building cleaners on Long Island, in upstate New York, New Jersey and parts of Connecticut have voted to strike if workers can’t reach a new contract with a collection of regional employers by Dec. 31, according to the union representing workers.

On Long Island, around 700 union building cleaners at office buildings, educational institutions and medical facilities could be out on strike as early as Jan. 1, according to union officials with Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union. On Saturday, 90 Long Island cleaners voted unanimously to authorize a strike.

Organizers said the biggest hurdles to a contract currently are demands for wage increases, the expansion of pensions, and the addition of Juneteenth as a paid holiday.

32BJ represents 80,000 janitors, building maintenance workers and airport employees statewide, including 3,000 on Long Island.

“Most of our members work at least two jobs because they can’t survive on the wages that they make,” said Lenore Friedlaender, a top official at Local 32BJ SEIU. “This is work that should be a middle-class job but it’s not.”

The current wage rate for unionized cleaners on Long Island is $16 an hour, Friedlaender said, a dollar above the state's $15 minimum wage for the region.

The Long Island workers are among  10,000 cleaners in the tristate region negotiating for a master contract that covers wages and benefits at more than 80 employers. The largest employers involved in negotiations include American Building Maintenance, Pritchard Industries, Aramark, and Collins Building Services, the largest employer subject to the contract on Long Island, the union said. 

Regions covered by the pending master contract include union janitors in the Hudson Valley, Rockland, Westchester, and Albany, throughout New Jersey statewide, and in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Friedlaender said.

An attorney representing employers in the contract negotiations could not be reached for comment.

Marda Mendez, 54, of Massapequa, who has been working as a building cleaner for 25 years and currently works three jobs, said a wage increase is a necessity.

“My co-workers and myself deserve a fair contract and fair wage increase,” Mendez said in Spanish through a translator. Mendez, who worked throughout the pandemic like many of her fellow cleaners, said the contributions of workers like her often go unnoticed.

“We were essential workers then,” she said. “We will continue to be essential even if we’re not recognized … A fair wage increase is the least they can do for us now.”

Angel Andino, 42, of Mineola, another 32BJ member who works two cleaning jobs, said authorizing the strike shows that the Island’s unionized cleaners need higher pay and are willing to fight for it.

“It’s very important for the workers to let employers know that we are ready and willing to go to the last consequences if needed in order for us to get a fair contract,” Andino said in Spanish.