Walkout Ends at University of Miami as Janitors' Pact Is Reached

After a sit-in, hunger strikes and a nine-week walkout, janitors at the University of Miami decided yesterday to return to work, as the university's cleaning contractor reached a settlement with the Service Employees International Union.

Under the agreement, the contractor, Unicco Service Company, would allow workers to sign cards indicating their desire to join the union rather than insist on the more traditional process of a formal election.

The union agreed that to gain recognition, 60 percent of the university's 425 janitors — rather than a traditional simple majority — would have to sign cards saying they wanted to form a union.

Throughout the dispute, the service employees sought to press the university's president, Donna Shalala, who was secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton, to persuade Unicco to agree to the card check. The union sponsored hunger strikes by students and janitors and rallied civil rights leaders and members of the clergy to back the unionization effort.

Dr. Shalala said that elections were a fair process and said she would not intervene.

Eliseo Medina, an executive vice president for the service employees, who ended an 11-day fast yesterday, led a rally last night at the university hailing the settlement.

"It's a great day for Miami's workers because it shows that if you persevere, you can win," Mr. Medina said. "It was very clear that we were not going to go away, that this was an issue that needed to be resolved." The janitors plan to resume work Wednesday.

The union says card checks are a fairer way to unionize workers than an election because companies often fire or intimidate union supporters during an election. Under the settlement, the union has until Aug. 1 to have janitors sign cards showing it has 60 percent support. The American Arbitration Association is to monitor the process.

Unicco's chairman, Steven C. Kletjian, praised the accord, saying, "The rights of our employees are preserved, and they have access to a democratic process that allows them to freely express their opinion regarding union representation."

The university issued a statement saying it had always maintained a neutral stance in the dispute.

When the strike began, the janitors were earning a minimum of $6.40 an hour. Unicco raised wages to at least $8.55 an hour and provided workers with health insurance after Dr. Shalala created a commission that called for those changes.