Workers who clean Delaware offices get new contract

A union representing about 450 Delaware workers who clean office buildings says a tentative contract agreement averts a possible strike.

Members of 32BJ SEIU (Service Employees International Union) marched in Wilmington’s Rodney Square on December 8th when an agreement with several large cleaning contractors appeared to be in jeopardy.  Since then, the union bargaining committee says a tentative agreement has been reached on a four-year contract that provides the workers with a yearly wage increase of five-percent.  Average pay for a Wilmington-area worker would rise from $8.70 to $10.40 per hour.  The agreement is subject to ratification by the union membership.  The contract was set to expire at the start of the new year.