SEIU workers rally in Center City for better pay, health benefits

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A few thousand workers shut down part of the Ben Franklin Parkway Tuesday afternoon while rallying for a raise. 32 BJ SEIU workers in Philadelphia will see their contract come up first. 

Union leaders say what happens in Philly will set the tone for workers across the country.  

More than a thousand cleaners, maintenance workers and more were marching and rallying in Center City as they demanded better pay and health benefits. 

"Every four years, the fight gets harder and harder. We just be asking for things for our basic needs. We're not asking to be rich," Audra Traynham said. 

Workers say they kept commercial buildings open and clean during the pandemic but have faced job cuts and now the possibility of reduced hours. 

However, it wasn't just Philly workers rallying. They were joined by hundreds of their counterparts from Massachusetts to DC. 

"It's a group effort. Being a part of the union, if we don't fight together, we're gonna lose together," Jean Carlo Rodriguez, who came down from New York, said. 

"The contractors that are members work for are the same, whether you're talking about Philadelphia, or Pittsburgh, or New York, or London. And so this fight is really going to set to tone for what happens for people in this industry all over the place," Gabe Morgan, Vice President of the SEIU 32BJ  said. 

That's because the Philly workers' contract is up first, on Oct. 15. 

The building owners labor relations said in a statement they are "committed to working in good faith throughout the negotiations." Union leaders say while negotiations are early, everything is on the table.  

"If what the owners expect is to cut these workers' pay, then there will be a strike," Morgan said.  

Union leaders say they'll spend the next month and a half at the negotiating table. Another key person rallying with the workers on Tuesday was Democratic mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker.