A labor agreement that will restore lost Connecticut worker jobs, benefits and wages has been reached.
The agreement is with the company that provides cleaning services to the Connecticut Science Center in downtown Harford.
After a dispute that stretched out for nearly a year, 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union said it has reached an agreement to bring back five workers who lost their jobs after the interactive science museum changed cleaning contractors in late 2024.
“We’re incredibly pleased to reach this conclusion after several months of fighting for our workers,” Rochelle Palache, vice president and state director of the union, said, in a statement.
“The cleaners tireless work to maintain the center is essential so that the community can learn and enjoy themselves in a safe, clean and healthy environment,” Palache said. “We’re excited to see them return to their posts and continue their positive contribution to one of Hartford’s most impactful institutions.”
When the science center changed cleaning services, it dropped Service Management Group in favor of Burgos Cleaning Services LLC of Hartford, leading to the reduction. The union’s dispute was not directly with the science center.
As part of the union’s settlement with Burgos, the displaced cleaners will return to work with wages, benefits and full seniority restored, according to the union.
In addition, the settlement also resolves “the dispute that was at the heart of an unfair labor practice filed by the union with the (National Labor Relations Board), alleging that the new vendor refused to hire the workers because of their union status,” according to a release from 32BJ SEIU.
An aerial view of the Connecticut Science Center, Connecticut River and I-91 from One State Street in Hartford in 2024. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
Neither Burgos nor the science center immediately returned a call or email seeking comment.
The union pressured Burgos and the science center with rallies outside the museum on Columbus Boulevard, a petition calling for the rehiring of the workers and a campaign on social media.
“It was a long struggle, but thankfully, we are back in our jobs,” said Juan Carlos Rodriguez, a worker who won back his job. “I want to extend my gratitude to our union, which stayed on top of everything and supported our actions and demonstrations, and the public whose support made us feel happy and motivated.”
32BJ SEIU has 5,000 members in Connecticut and 185,000 members in 11 states and Washington, DC.
Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.
