Newark, NY – New Jersey’s office building cleaners have ratified a new four-year contract 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.