Union for NE Janitors Reaches Tentative Pact

 A union representing 14,000 New England janitors has reached a tentative contract agreement that allows them to avoid a strike.

A spokeswoman for Local 615 of the Service Employees International Union said early Monday that the agreement followed a day of negotiations that went beyond the union's midnight deadline. She declined to discuss details of the proposed contract. A news conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday at theunion's Boston headquarters.

Several hundred janitors attended a candlelight vigil Sunday at LoPresti Park in East Boston and participated in a procession to the Most Holy Redeemer Church.

Janitors have complained that employers offer them as few as 18 hours a week, which prevents them from getting health insurance.

The local represents janitors in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire in talks with the Maintenance Contractors of New England.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press