Welcome to The Newsfeed.

I'm Venice Buhain, in for Paris Jackson.

A cleaning company receiving hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars is negotiating with its unionized workers over the employees' contract.

Multimedia Journalist Jaelynn Grisso has more on what the workers are fighting for.

-The folks responsible for cleaning everything from tablecloths to scrubs and uniforms say they deserve a better contract with their employer, Vestis Services, previously known as Aramark.

-We feel dignity in our doing that job.

But we don't get that dignity in return.

-Workers and Vestis Services have been negotiating a new contract since August 2025.

They're asking for wage increases to better keep up with the cost of living, changes to the pension structure and for the company to maintain its current health insurance.

Vestis Services has a contract for work for the State of Washington, among others.

For the state contract alone, they received about $245,000 in the last biennium.

I spoke with two employees sho work at the facility right behind me here in Kent, who told me why they're asking for higher wages and a better retirement.

-Everything is going up.

That's why we're asking for the wages we deserve because of everything is just expensive.

Basically, we can't live like human beings without struggling so much.

We are really struggling, but we don't want to struggle more.

-Vestis did not respond to a request for comment.

Workers will vote next week to either ratify the contract or authorize a strike, depending on the company's response.

In Kent, Jaelynn Grisso, Cascade PBS.

Tomorrow, we'll continue our coverage of unions with an update on Starbucks.

Thank you for watching The Newsfeed.