Richmond council asks mayor to seek funding to raise pay for contracted janitorial workers

The Richmond City Council adopted Resolution 20 26 R004 directing the mayor to propose $1.1 million in the FY27 budget to increase wages and benefits for contracted janitorial workers and to pursue amending the city’s janitorial services contract to require contractors to pay at least the city’s minimum wage.

Councilmember Lynch, one of the resolution’s patrons, described the measure as a step toward aligning contractor pay with the city's $20-per-hour living-wage standard for city employees. Union representatives urged the council to act: Tremaine Johnson of 32BJ SEIU, which represents building-service workers in Richmond, said most contracted janitors earn roughly $15 per hour and lack paid time off, and he asked the council to adopt the resolution to close that gap. “It’s time to close the gap,” Johnson said.

Supporters argued the cost relative to the city budget would be modest and that raising standards would help retain workers and improve service quality. Council members asked administration staff about contractor engagement and the potential effects of raising contractor pay, and discussed alternatives including insourcing the work to make janitors city employees. City administration staff said they have spoken with the contractor but noted the resolution is a statement of council intent and that implementation details—how raises would be achieved under contract or budget—would be worked out in the budget process.

The council voted to adopt the resolution. The measure requests that the mayor include the funding recommendation in the proposed budget and directs staff to pursue appropriate contract provisions or other implementation steps for future budgets.