Broadway cleaners voted to authorize a strike Tuesday amid negotiations over a new contract.
The strike vote marks the first time the more than 250 cleaners, who are a part of the 32BJ of Service Employees International Union, have voted to authorize a strike in 18 years. Talks with the Broadway League, which represents their employers, the theater owners ATG, Nederlander, Shubert and Circle in the Square, are ongoing, but the Broadway cleaners say the two parties are still far apart on several issues, and the current contract has expired.
The union is asking for wage increases that keep pace with the cost of living, improved pension benefits and healthcare, better working conditions and paid leave and strengthened anti-discrimination measures. The strike authorization vote does not necessarily mean a strike will happen, but gives the union the option to call a strike if necessary, and is often used as a show of force amid negotiations.
Speaking ahead of the vote, and a rally in front of the Shubert Organization offices, 32BJ SEIU Executive Vice President Denis Johnston, said the two parties, who have been negotiating since early June, are at odds over wages, in particular. This is of particular importance to union members, who were unemployed while the theaters were closed during the pandemic, and then did not see wage increases for several years after, and are facing a high cost of living.
“With the high cost of inflation in the city, the high cost of housing, our members are deeply, deeply struggling, like many other working people, and we have to deliver a very strong wage settlement for our members,” Johnston said.
Another negotiating session is planned for Wednesday and Johnston said he expects to continue next week. The Broadway League did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At the rally, where workers chanted “Share the wealth,” while holding up signs expressing support for the strike vote, the topic of the Broadway industry’s success was also at the forefront. In the 2025-2026 season, Broadway brought in a collective $1.91 billion in ticket sales, largely on par with the prior season’s historic gains.
“It’s us who have to pick up the $7 bottles of water and the $20 boxes of popcorn at every single show,” Chris Repollet, a cleaner at the New Amsterdam Theater (currently home to Aladdin) and member of the bargaining committee, said on stage at the rally. “We see the success of the industry. That depends on us.” (Repollet is also covered under the terms of the contract, even though his theater owner is not listed).
The musicians union, Local 802 AFM, and Actors’ Equity, had similarly pointed to the grosses at rallies this past fall during their own contract negotiations with their employers, the Broadway producers (who, in turn, countered with the increasing costs of producing shows). Both unions had said they would strike if a deal were not reached and came close to their strike deadlines, before reaching new contracts.
The rally Tuesday included dozens of 32BJ union members and a handful of AFM and IATSE members, who all chanted about the union and a need for a new contract to the backdrop of pop hits. Speaking ahead of the event, Repollet noted that this was the first time he had seen this many other Broadway cleaners together, and that there was a general lack of knowledge about the group within the industry.
Martha Aristizabal, who has worked at the Ambassador Theater for 17 years (home to Chicago) and sits on the bargaining committee, described the job, via a translator, as being physically demanding, and requiring more than 40 hours a week for some cleaners, who are tasked with carrying supplies and Playbills into the theater, and cleaning up the cups, food and more found in the seating areas. The job also entails cleaning up the confetti used at the end of many shows, as well as on stage decorations, such as gravel, that’s made its way into the audience.
“It’s very important because we’re like the motor for Broadway to function. Every show starts with the essential workers, which is us,” Aristizabal said. She added that current wages were not sustainable for the high cost of living in the area.
“The landscape of the city is changing,” Repollet told The Hollywood Reporter before the rally. “You want a second job because you need it, but at the end of a 40-hour-week you just want to recoup and come back. So it’s difficult. We just hope the League respects our offer, respects us and treats us like the people we are.”
“What this fight boils down to is respect,” he continued on stage. “Everybody looks down on us, but we do it with pride because we care about the theaters. We care about the shows.”