Photo: Courtesy of SEIU 32BJ
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Hundreds of unionized janitorial workers marched through the Back Bay to the Boston Common demanding better wages and a fair contract Saturday.
Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International, which represents more than 12,000 cleaners in Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Worcester, Providence, and several other Massachusetts and Rhode Island communities, voted to authorize a strike should a new contract not be reached between the union and their employers by midnight on Nov. 15.
"We’re fundamentally fighting for fair wage increases, to protect our health benefits," union president Manny Pastreich told WBZ NewsRadio. "Many of these jobs are part-time, so people are trying to make a living on four or five hours a night, and we’re trying to create more full-time jobs."
According to the union, 75% of its members work part-time and do not have health insurance through their work.
Among those joining union cleaners at Saturday's march were Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
"They deserve to be able to put on the table for their own families," Wu said. "Every single one of our families should be able to thrive and just work one job, not cobble together multiple part-time jobs because of an industry that is trying to avoid obligations on health insurance."
WBZ's Mike Macklin reports.
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