Eleven people were issued citations for trespassing as janitors with SEIU Local 26, who last week went on a 24-hour strike, protested Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Bank headquarters in downtown Minneapolis.
The protesters chanted and continued their call for a $15 hourly wage floor for all janitors. As of 4:30 p.m., no one had been arrested, said Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder.
SEIU and the subcontractors who hire the janitors have been in negotiations since November. A bargaining session is planned for Friday morning.
A deal couldn't be reached at their latest bargaining session on Monday — the 12th between the two sides, which have been far apart on wages since negotiations began. Full-time janitors, who now earn $14.62 per hour, are asking for a $1-an-hour raise each of the next three years.
SEIU negotiators have also proposed raising part-timers' hourly pay to $15 an hour by the end of a new three-year contract, and giving workers additional sick days.
The cleaning companies have offered a much more modest concession — to raise full-time workers' pay above $15 per hour by the beginning of 2018, but not part-time employees'.
Local 26 is Minnesota's Property Services Union, uniting more than 6,000 janitors, security officers, and window cleaners in the Twin Cities metro.
Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648
