Pittsburgh essential workers rally for fair living wage, better benefits

PITTSBURGH — Fair living wages and good benefits — that’s what a group of Pittsburgh essential workers are rallying for in Downtown Pittsburgh.

On day one of contract negotiations, union reps from 32BJ SEIU Janitors Union and local leaders rallied with the group. There are about 1,200 janitors represented in the Pittsburgh area.

“We keep downtown together, we keep downtown clean, and we have not had a significant raise in four years. Meanwhile, everything around us has gone up,” said Steven Kelley.

Kelley has 13 years under his belt. He’s a janitor for Gateway buildings.

Kelley says rising rents and inflation makes it tough to make ends meet.

“We have families to feed we have people that we care about. We have roofs over our heads that need to be maintained, and we’re just here to tell these bosses, man like, y’all have that stuff come across. Give it to us, " said Kelley.

“We are proposing pay increases that will make up for the gap between what we got over the last couple of years and the rate at which cost of living has actually increased,” said Sam Williamson, director of Western PA 32BJ SEIU Union.

They also want to keep their paid employer healthcare and expand retirement benefits.

“What we are asking for what we are demanding is a fair contract, a contract that says thank you for the work that you do, a contract that says thank you for the sacrifices made,” said Kelley.

Contracts are set to expire Oct. 31. The group says they’re committed to putting up a good fight to get what they want.

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