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Talks continue for Center City cleaners

Negotiations continued yesterday between management and 2,350 unionized janitors and maintenance workers who clean Center City buildings, as a strike loomed.

Negotiations continued yesterday between management and 2,350 unionized janitors and maintenance workers who clean Center City buildings, as a strike loomed.

Contracts for the workers who clean 67 buildings - mostly in Center City - expire at midnight. Members of the Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union are preparing to strike if a settlement is not reached.

"Things are moving slower than expected - we seem to be hitting a snag on economic issues," Wayne MacManiman Jr., district chairman for the Mid-Atlantic district of the local, said yesterday.

Union officials say contractors who clean buildings try to use as many part-time workers as possible, not giving them health insurance and paying them $4 an hour less than the average $14 that full-time janitors earn.

Buildings covered by the union include Centre Square, Commerce Square and Cira Centre. - Jan Hefler