Service workers in Minneapolis, Minn. voted Saturday to authorize a strike if the city and their union are unable to agree on a new labor contract by Feb. 14.
The Service Employees International Union Local 26 and the city of Minneapolis have been unable to agree on a new contract since negotiations began in October. The main issue has been over wages, reports the local CBS News affiliate. Thousands of city janitors, security officers and other service workers could end up striking if a contract is not agreed upon in time.
“Most janitors are folks of color,” Local 26 Executive Board Member James Matias told MinnPost. “To bring that [extra income] into communities of color? That is huge.”
The unionized city workers are demanding that wages rise to at least $15 an hour, though some are already making $11 an hour if not more. Local 26 also wants to increase the number of sick days workers get. The union does have support among some state officials, including Lt. Gov. Tina Smith who told a crowd of unionized city workers that their demands are not unreasonable.
“Sometimes you have to demand to be treated fairly. Sometimes you need to show firmness of purpose in order to get what you deserve,” Smith said Saturday according to local NBC News affiliate. “I look at these workers who do so much to keep our economy running, often in the middle of the night. Everybody else is sleeping and they are working to clean up office buildings.”
The unionized city workers have been working without a contract since Dec. 31 when the last one expired. Minnesota currently has a minimum wage of $9.00 an hour. The city did not respond to a request for comment by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
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