Office cleaning contractors in Montgomery County, Tennessee are expected to begin negotiating first contracts with Local 82 of the Service Employees International Union this month. The agreement to negotiate comes after Local 82 filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that cleaning companies Potomac Minute Maid and Service Solutions threatened employees to prevent them from organizing. The janitors---who make only $5.15 to $5.50 an hour---are looking to win health benefits, and a raise that would put them on par with the $7.70 an hour made by janitors in nearby Washington D.C.
See "A New Front Opens in Fight for Janitors", DANA HEDGPETH, The Washington Post, May 19, 2002