Broadway cleaners reach tentative agreement, likely averting strike

Just over a week after unanimously authorizing what would have been their first strike in nearly two decades, Broadway cleaners have reached a tentative four-year contract with theater owners that delivers significant wage and pension gains while preserving employer-paid health insurance.

Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union announced July 9 that its bargaining committee had reached a tentative agreement with the Broadway League, which negotiates on behalf of theater owners including ATG, Nederlander, Shubert and Circle in the Square. The deal, which still must be ratified by union members, covers approximately 250 cleaners at 30 Broadway theaters.

The agreement ends weeks of contentious negotiations that prompted workers to vote June 30 to authorize a strike after union leaders said the two sides remained far apart on wages, pensions and healthcare. At the time, porter and bargaining committee member Christopher Repollet described negotiations as "a stalemate," saying the employers had made "an awful economic offer."

Repollet, who previously told The Chief that cleaners wanted employers to recognize their value, said the bargaining unit's persistence ultimately rewarded them.

"I show up every day proud of the work we do and proud of my fellow cleaners," he said in a statement. "While this fight wasn't easy, it was worth it. We stood united to win an agreement that gives us the dignity and respect that we deserve from this industry."

Dignity and respect

The union had warned that a strike could have begun this week, potentially disrupting performances at theaters hosting productions including The Lion King, Wicked, Chicago, Aladdin, Schmigadoon, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Death Becomes Her and The Outsiders.

The Broadway League did not respond to a request for comment.

Under the tentative agreement, workers would receive wage increases totaling $5 an hour over the four-year contract — approximately a 21 percent increase — along with improvements to their pension. The agreement also preserves fully employer-paid family health insurance, expands paid leave, adds Juneteenth as a paid holiday, strengthens anti-discrimination protections and includes other workplace improvements, according to the union.

The tentative deal comes after the union argued that cleaners deserved a larger share of Broadway's post-pandemic prosperity. During the June 30 strike authorization rally in Shubert Alley, 32BJ Executive Vice President Denis Johnston noted that Broadway generated more than $1.9 billion in ticket sales and attracted 14.5 million attendees last season.

'We're here today to demand our fair share'

"Broadway is booming," Johnston told workers before the vote. "We're here today to demand our fair share."

Workers said they had struggled to keep pace with New York City's rising cost of living despite the industry's recovery. 

"We risked our lives during COVID to make sure Broadway could safely reopen," Martha Aristizabal, a porter at the Ambassador Theatre and a 17-year union member, said in a statement announcing the agreement. "We work long nights and weekends, often missing major milestones with family and loved ones, to do the hard work it takes to put on each and every performance."

Aristizabal said the agreement's wage and pension increases, expanded paid leave and continued employer-paid healthcare would allow workers to better care for themselves and spend more time with their families.

Johnston credited workers' willingness to strike with helping secure the tentative agreement.

"By showing our union power at the bargaining table and in the streets, we were able to secure the strong agreement that Broadway's essential cleaners need and deserve," he said.