Janitors ink contract, strike is averted

Union leaders representing 13,000 janitors in Greater Boston agreed to a four-year contract with Maintenance Contractors of New England, hours before their previous contract expired, according to 32BJ, a branch of the Service Employees International Union.

The new contract, which members must ratify, gives employees a 12 percent increase in wages over the contract — to $20 an hour for metro Boston janitors — and expands employer-paid health care to family of full-time employees.

“This is the contract we need to support our families and communities,” Lucy Gonzalez, a janitor at Logan Airport, said in a statement.

Negotiations began in August, and last Saturday union membership voted to authorize a strike if leadership couldn’t reach a deal. The deal was reached last night. The union represents workers in many Boston office buildings, including the John Hancock, Prudential Tower, Vertex and Biogen, State Street.