Workers of a Lehigh Valley clean-room equipment testing and servicing company walked off the job this week in a dispute over pay and benefits.

About 30 technicians of Micro-Clean Inc. at 177 N. Commerce Way picketed Friday, a day after going on strike.

Micro-Clean provides clean-room certification for pharmaceutical companies and hospitals.

The company was acquired in December 2015 by Steris Corp., a global provider of infection prevention and surgical products and services that is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The employees unionized last year and are represented by the Sheet Metal Workers Union Local No. 19. Workers said they walked out for better pay and benefits as they tried to negotiate their first contract with the company.

The striking workers are technicians Steris spokesman Stephen Norton said the strike is related to ongoing negotiations but he wouldn’t elaborate on the issues.

“We are committed to reaching an agreement that is fair and equitable to our people and the company,” he said. “Since we are involved in negotiations with the union, we are unable to publicly discuss, share details or otherwise comment on a private process.”

Norton said Micro-Clean provides clean-room testing and certification, equipment calibration and repair, environmental monitoring and validation.

Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.