Twin Cities janitors reach tentative deal after 3-day strike
Thousands of janitors struck at over 100 locations across the metro earlier this week. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A tentative agreement was made between Twin Cities janitors and their employers early Saturday morning.
After an almost 20-hour bargaining session that ended at 4 a.m., commercial janitors came to a tentative agreement with their employers. According to the janitor's union, SEIU Local 26, the tentative agreement includes a pay increase for all workers to $20 an hour, an employer paid retirement 401K account, life insurance and increased sick days and float holidays.
The tentative agreement comes after a three-day strike earlier in the week, where over 4,000 janitors struck at over 100 buildings. In February, 8,000 members of the SEIU Local 26 union voted to call an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike if these practices continued and contracts weren't reached.
Union members still need to vote on the agreement.
"We fought extremely hard and we got the best deal we’ve ever got because we were willing to go out on strike," said janitor Mike Bartos. "We won a retirement plan and higher raises, and we helped expand union rights. We are proud of how hard we fought and are going to be ready to come back in four years to keep winning more of what we deserve."