Broadway Cleaners Reach Tentative Contract Agreement With Theater Owners, Avoiding Potential Strike

The bargaining committee of the union representing Broadway cleaners has reached a tentative contract agreement with Broadway’s theater owners, avoiding a possible strike that was authorized by the workers last week.

The agreement was reached last night in negotiations between the bargaining committee of the local 32BJ SEIU union and the Broadway League representing theater owners ATG, Nederlander, Shubert and Circle in the Square.

The agreement was announced today by the cleaners union, which says it has secured “historic wage and pension increases while expanding paid leave and protecting employer-paid family health care for 250 cleaners working on Broadway’s top hits, including Chicago, Aladdin, Schmigadoon and Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”

Martha Aristizabal, Porter at the Ambassador Theater and 32BJ SEIU member for 17 years, said in a statement, “We risked our lives during COVID to make sure Broadway could safely reopen. We work long nights and weekends, often missing major milestones with family and loved ones, to do the hard work it takes to put on each and every performance. This victory honors all that we’ve put in over the years. By winning wage and pension increases, improving paid leave, and protecting our health care, we can dedicate more to taking care of ourselves and enjoying time with the people we care about.”

Last week, the cleaners held a theater district rally near Times Square and voted to authorize a strike for the first time in nearly two decades. A strike could have impacted 30 venues.

According to the union, the new four-year agreement secures:

$5/hour wage increases (21%) by the end of the four year contract;

Substantial improvement to defined benefit pension;

Safeguarded comprehensive, fully employer-paid family health care covering hundreds of members and their families;

Improved paid leave and work conditions;

Added Juneteenth as a paid holiday;

And strengthened anti-discrimination protections.

Deadline has reached out to the Broadway League for comment.

Chris Repollet, Porter at the New Amsterdam Theater and 32BJ SEIU member for three and a half years, said, “I show up every day proud of the work we do and proud of my fellow cleaners. So while this fight wasn’t easy, it was worth it. We stood united to win an agreement that gives us the dignity and respect that we deserve from this industry. Without cleaners, the show would not go on.”

32BJ SEIU Executive Vice President Denis Johnston added, “By showing our union power at the bargaining table and in the streets, we were able to secure the strong agreement that Broadway’s essential cleaners need and deserve. This victory includes historic wage increases, pension increases, and expanding paid leave – all while protecting fully employer-paid family health care. Together, we fought and we won.”

32BJ SEIU is the largest property service workers union in the country, with more than 190,000 members in 12 states and Washington, D.C.