Strike averted for 10,500 janitors

Just hours before their contract expired at midnight last night, local janitors won a tentative agreement for a new four-year contract. The deal averted a strike by over ten thousand commercial office cleaners in the D.C. area. The janitors, members of 32BJ SEIU, waged an intensive campaign, holding 16 separate strike vote rallies over a two-week period throughout D.C., Montgomery County, Northern Virginia and Baltimore. As part of the large push, area politicians, including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, rallied with janitors, who marched through downtown D.C. during rush hour two weeks in a row. Details will be released on Monday, October 20th, pending a ratification vote by union members.
photo: 10/11 SEIU32BJ demo; photo by Chris Garlock

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