NEW YORK CITY-After weeks of collective bargaining, the Realty Advisory Board and Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union reached a tentative agreement covering more than 22,000 city office cleaners, averting a New Year’s Day strike. The resolution—which was made before the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve—established a four-year contract that provides nearly a 5.6% wage increase and bonuses throughout the duration of the agreement. It will be ratified by RAB after a final board vote on Jan. 3.

“The new contract is not just an important victory for office cleaners and their families, but for our economy and our city,” says Hector Figueroa, secretary and treasures of 32BJ, in a statement. “In these tough times, the workers who keep New York City’s corporate offices and landmark buildings clean and well-maintained have stood up for the good middle class jobs our economy and our city needs.”

The union represents cleaning staff in more than 1,000 buildings across the city, including Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, the MetLife Building, the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Station, the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Time Warner Center. In addition to protecting workers’ wages, the agreement also maintains employer-paid family health care coverage for commercial building service workers in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. When ratified, the contract will last until Dec. 31, 2015.