Janitors' strike could impact Fort Lauderdale, Miami office buildings
MIAMI - South Florida janitors voted to authorize a strike on Wednesday.
The strike could threaten the cleaning services of 77 percent of downtown Miami and Fort Lauderdale office buildings.
The current union contract expires on February 29th.
If the cleaning companies don't get what they consider a fair contract, 1,500 cleaners could walk off the job.
"We need to get paid more money. We need to get more sick days. We need to get more hours, full-time hours in order for us to meet our necessities and our families," said one union member.
The janitors union says a majority of the women under the current contract in South Florida are immigrants.
Part-time janitors earn starting wages of $13 an hour with five vacation days and one paid holiday under the current agreement.
Full-time starts at $13.50 per hour with 5 additional paid holidays.