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CHICAGO – After almost a month of strikes, window washers swaying in the skyscrapers of downtown Chicago have ratified a new contract providing for a salary increase of 27%.
Agreement Increases Hourly Pay for Experienced Window Washers and Doubles Life Insurance from $ 50,000 to $ 100,000, Local 1 of the International Union of Service Employees announced Friday after members have "overwhelmingly" approved the contract.
The salary increase, of $ 20.50 currently, is the largest in the union's history, said SEIU Local 1, which represents about 260 window cleaners. "I'm more than happy," said Cruz Guzman, 27, a second-generation window cleaner who helped negotiate the new one. Contract. "My father has never seen a pay rise like this."
Window washers went on strike on July 2, two days after the expiry of their last contract. Some window cleaners may return to work Friday night, said union spokeswoman Izabela Miltko-Ivkovich. Others will return to work Monday
Cleanup was halted on Chicago's glbad buildings during the strike, which was a "big disruption", said Tom Trinen, president of Service One, who employs more than 50 window washers. 19659002] "Employers, employees and customers are very much looking forward to recovering them," said Trinen. "It was not positive for both sides Nobody wins with a strike."
He added, "They deserve an increase, they work hard."
The contractual conflict of the waterwashers The windows attracted the symbolic support of dozens of aldermen, the city's Latino Caucus and US Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth, and even Mayor Rahm Emanuel insisted on going out and approaching strike workers with handshakes when They demonstrated in front of the city hall, although he did not specifically address the protest or the claims.
Guzman said the victory was not just about wages "[traduction]" This strike brought everyone together, "said Mr. Guzman, who has been picketing every day, which only makes members stronger about what you want out of the process.
The union had first requested a contract to three years with a basic salary increase of $ 25. The agreed contract raises the salary a little more gradually, to $ 24.25 in the third year and $ 26 in the fifth year
It also increases the starting salary of apprentices to $ 16, against $ 12 currently, starting from Wednesday.
"Companies recognized that to recruit window cleaners, they had to raise the starting salary and ensure that they were taking care of their employees," said Efrain Elias, division manager. union premium
insurance premiums Employers currently pay 60 percent of workers' premiums, but the amount is capped, and the union wanted to raise the ceiling. Employers will contribute more during the last two years of the contract, said Elias
Corporate Cleaning Services, the largest window cleaning company in the city and the main target of the union's protest. vicious personal attacks against him, Neal Zucker took a leading role in these negotiations, to ensure fair wages to his cleaning services employees and employees of other s window cleaning companies in the city, "said the company in a statement. "We are pleased that these workers have recognized that the unreasonable and unprecedented SEIU demand for a 37% wage increase was not realistic and that they voted for fair wages and solid insurance we offer. We look forward to continuing to provide our customers with the high quality professional service they deserve.
Democratic nominee JB Pritzker has called Zucker in recent weeks about the strike at the SEIU's request, said a spokeswoman for the campaign. "I was happy to call the owner of the window cleaning company to express my desire to settle them – that the strikers receive a reasonable salary – and I encouraged him to return to the bargaining table, "said Mr. Pritzker. [19659002] Pritzker said that he was "only one voice" among several people in the conversations during the strike, "but I'm really glad that they ended up being sure that they were in the right place. install. "
Jorge Arizaga, 27, started as a window washer eight years ago, earning $ 10 an hour in a small business.Now to Corporate Cleaning Services, where he says that he earns $ 20.50, Arivaga said that this increase will help his family.
"We do not live a luxurious lifestyle, "he said. "If I could take my vacation a little more often, take a few days to dedicate it to my wife and children – not only do I deserve it, but they deserve it too."
Although the work is dangerous, Arizaga says that he loves He is eager to return to his perch hooked alongside the tallest buildings in the city.
"It's fun, it's exciting, it's a bunch of adrenaline," he said. "The view is incredible, we are watching the sunrise over Lake Michigan."
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