In The News
NJ Office Building Cleaners Ratify New Four-Year Contract
New Jersey’s office building cleaners ratified a new four-year contract on January 10 that protects the healthcare coverage of more than 7,000 workers and raises their wages by 13 percent over the life of the contract. The ratification votes came in meetings at 10 locations around the state, from Paterson to Morristown to Trenton, with the last in Newark and Jersey City this afternoon. Building cleaners at all the meetings overwhelmingly approved an agreement reached December 27th between the 32BJ Bargaining Committee and the New Jersey Contractors Association, which represents building cleaning companies.
“This new contract is an important victory not just for New Jersey building cleaners and their families, but also for our economy and our state,” said Kevin Brown, New Jersey State Director for 32BJ. “By raising wages and preserving healthcare coverage, this agreement helps thousands of working families stay on a path out of poverty and keeps our economy on the road to recovery. When working families have more income, they buy more, the economy churns more, and the quality of working families’ lives improves.”
Building cleaners represented by 32BJ clean more than 400 office buildings around the state, including prominent properties along the Hudson waterfront and in Newark. Major owners of commercial buildings cleaned by 32BJ members include high-profile companies such as Hartz Mountain, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck. Cleaning contractors include some of the biggest in the nation and the state, such as American Building Maintenance (ABM), Allan Industries and CRS Facility Services.
“These are the kind of good jobs that New Jersey needs to help families and ensure our state’s future prosperity,” said Larry Engelstein, 32BJ Assistant to the President. “This contract shows what working people can achieve when they stand together for fair treatment and decent wages.”
With more than 120,000 members in eight states and Washington, D.C., including 9,000 in New Jersey, 32BJ SEIU is the largest property services union in the country.
For more information, visit http://www.standwithbuildingworkers.org/districts/new-jersey/.
SEIU NJ STATE COUNCIL ENDORSES CONGRESSMAN ROTHMAN
Jan. 19, 2012
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Lizette Delgado-Polanco
Executive Director
SEIU NJ State Council
973.824.3225, Ext. 2263
seiunjstatecouncilnews@gmail.com
NEWARK – The SEIU New Jersey State Council, representing 40,000 service workers in the private and public sectors around the state, today announced its endorsement of U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman in the 9th Congressional District.
“Congressman Rothman has consistently taken those important extra steps for our working men and women who are the backbone of New Jersey, and that is why the SEIU New Jersey State Council will support him all the way to the voting polls,” said Rahaman Muhammad, Council President and President of Newark-based SEIU Local 617.
“Congressman Rothman has always demonstrated leadership and in light of the challenges that labor faces here in New Jersey and across the nation, we now need him more than ever to have a voice in issues affecting the lives of our working people, our families and our state,” said Milly Silva, Council Vice President and Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, New Jersey Region.
“Whenever SEIU has called on Congressman Rothman to get involved with the issues facing our working men and women right here in New Jersey, he has enthusiastically and with no hesitation stepped up to the plate and we are confident he will continue to do so,” said Kevin Brown, Council Secretary/Treasurer and the New Jersey State Director for Local 32BJ.
ABOUT SEIU NJ STATE COUNCIL
The SEIU New Jersey State Council’s mission is to improve the lives of New Jersey’s working families by fighting for living wages, health care for all, pensions, and the opportunity for advancement. It’s about winning back the American Dream for thousands of hard-working families. We use our collective power to build coalitions, lobby, and hold elected officials accountable on working family issues. SEIU New Jersey State Council represents 40,000 members across the state who work in four major service industries. For more information, visit www.seiunj.org.
SEIU Turns 90
The SEIU New Jersey State Council’s mission is to improve the lives of New Jersey’s working families by fighting for living wages, health care for all, pensions, and the opportunity for advancement. It’s about winning back the American Dream for thousands of hard-working families. We use our collective power to build coalitions, lobby, and hold elected officials accountable on working family issues. SEIU New Jersey State Council represents 40,000 members across the state who work in four major service industries. 
