On Sept. 19, student demonstrators gathered in the Letts-Anderson Quad to form a picket line in support of American University’s cleaning staff. The protest was organized by the Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter at AU.

According to a flier distributed by regional union 32BJ SEIU, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, 120 janitors at AU were being represented in negotiations for a new contract with Aramark. The union claimed that the raise in pay proposed by Aramark did not keep up with inflation.

On Oct. 4, 32BJ SEIU announced in a press release that AU had ratified a contract providing $6.00 in hourly wage increases over five years to property service workers employed by facilities provider Aramark.

“By the end of the five-year contract, the lowest paid workers will see their wages increase from $19.37 to $25.37 while the highest paid will see wages increase from $21.67 to $27.67,” the press release read.