Window cleaners voted late Thursday to ratify the new pact. Employers ended a week-long lockout of some 60 cleaners Friday morning and many returned to work at 7 a.m., the union said.
The union said the new, five-year contract “makes significant steps forward” on key issues:
• Better safety standards
• A union controlled Taft-Hartley training fund
• $3 wage raise over 5 years
• Increases to the pension fund
“We absolutely couldn\'t have won this without all of you,” the union said in a message to supporters. “Thank you for joining us on our picket lines and marches and sending emails to property managers.
“We especially want to recognize all the other union members who honored our picket lines: UPS drivers and Teamster drivers, electricians, elevator operators, and too many others to name. Thank you for your solidarity throughout the lockout. This is the kind of solidarity that will help revive the labor movement.”
The union said it will continue to work at the state Legislature to pass higher safety standards. Rep. Jim Davnie, DFL-Minneapolis, has promised to introduce a proposal to improve job safety for window cleaners.
Three window cleaners have been killed on the job in the Twin Cities over the past three years. During the lockout, workers called attention to the industry’s poor safety record. Their actions included a memorial march and an act of civil disobedience in which three cleaners were arrested for a sit-down demonstration at Gavidae Common in downtown Minneapolis.
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Window cleaners voted late Thursday to ratify the new pact. Employers ended a week-long lockout of some 60 cleaners Friday morning and many returned to work at 7 a.m., the union said.
The union said the new, five-year contract “makes significant steps forward” on key issues:
• Better safety standards
• A union controlled Taft-Hartley training fund
• $3 wage raise over 5 years
• Increases to the pension fund
“We absolutely couldn\’t have won this without all of you,” the union said in a message to supporters. “Thank you for joining us on our picket lines and marches and sending emails to property managers.
“We especially want to recognize all the other union members who honored our picket lines: UPS drivers and Teamster drivers, electricians, elevator operators, and too many others to name. Thank you for your solidarity throughout the lockout. This is the kind of solidarity that will help revive the labor movement.”
The union said it will continue to work at the state Legislature to pass higher safety standards. Rep. Jim Davnie, DFL-Minneapolis, has promised to introduce a proposal to improve job safety for window cleaners.
Three window cleaners have been killed on the job in the Twin Cities over the past three years. During the lockout, workers called attention to the industry’s poor safety record. Their actions included a memorial march and an act of civil disobedience in which three cleaners were arrested for a sit-down demonstration at Gavidae Common in downtown Minneapolis.
Related articles and video
Three window cleaners arrested as protest highlights safety concerns