SEIU Local 49 ratifies new master janitorial agreement

By Don McIntosh

About 1,800 janitors have a new union master agreement that will raise wages $2.25 an hour over the next three years, reaching $18 an hour in year three. The agreement, ratified by members mid-August  July 24, is between Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 49 and a group of union-signatory janitorial contractors. They clean Class A office buildings in downtown Portland as well as the Nike, Adidas, and Intel campuses. 

Maggie Long, director of the union’s property services division, called it one of the strongest contracts ever. Besides the 14% wage increase over the life of the contact, the new pact includes better workload and immigration language, improvements in dental care, and for the first time commits employers to contribute to a new jointly administered education fund that will train members on green and energy-saving cleaning techniques.

The agreement runs through July 1, 2024. According to the Local 49 web site, the contract covers the following union cleaning firms:

• Able
• ABM 
• ISS at Adidas
• NJSI
• Relay Resources (formerly PHC)
• SBM
• ServiceMaster of Swan Island
• Skyline Building Maintenance
• State Building Maintenance
• Township United Building Services