In a troubled economy where job creation is the number one priority, one of America's largest banks is firing low-wage workers while their executives make millions.
Yesterday in Century City, California, janitors who clean JP Morgan Chase's Century Plaza Towers put up a tent city and began a 72-hour fast and vigil outside of 2000 Avenue of the Stars. The protest kicks off a week of action in support of struggling janitors who recently lost their jobs at one of the glitziest addresses in Los Angeles.
"I am fasting so that the company can think conscientiously about what we do. I am sacrificing myself for my son and myself because they deserve the best future in this country," said Zoila Sosa, a janitor at 2000 Avenue of the Stars who was laid off.
Despite paying out $9 billion in executive bonuses and receiving $95 billion in taxpayer-funded bailouts, JP Morgan is trying to cut costs by laying off janitors.
Two weeks ago, 16 hardworking janitors were laid off. Already struggling in a tough economy, the families affected by the layoffs are desperate, with no way to pay rent or put food on the table. Fifty-seven of their co-workers who are left to pick up the additional work at Century Plaza walked out in protest, and were subsequently suspended.
"We really weren't given a reason," says SEIU spokesman Jacob Hay. He says the union recognizes the need by some facilities to cut back in tough economic times, but the SEIU is taking aim at these particular layoffs because the building is owned by Chase. The union claims the Wall Street giant received a $95 billion taxpayer bailout, only to "turn around and allow the layoffs of the least paid employees at one of the most expensive buildings in the city," says Hay. "Enough is enough."
The actions by the janitors illustrate the growing divide between Wall Street and the rest of America. JP Morgan Chase recently reported a 76 percent jump in profits in the last quarter. Meanwhile, 26 million Americans remain unemployed or underemployed, 1 out of every 8 mortgages is in default or foreclosure, and states and cities like Los Angeles teeter on the edge of bankruptcy.
"It's unjust the way they earn so much money. What I earn in one year they earn in five hours," said Rosa Mirna Cruz, who works at 2000 Avenue of the Stars. "How is that fair and how is that good for our country? They are leaving us and our families without food and without a way to pay for rent, and they are taking jobs away from our city. They get billions and we struggle to survive. All we are asking is that they stop unfairly laying off workers."
For Zoila Sosa, the layoff could mean that her teenage son will have to get a job instead of enrolling in college. Patricia Nazario of KPCC News talked with the family:
"She's been really stressed out," said Sosa's son, 17-year-old Jorge, who joined his mother at the rally. "She's been more tense. Worried. Sometimes she cries by herself, alone. We're scared. We don't know what's gonna happen."
Union leaders are calling on JP Morgan Chase to step in and restore the janitors' jobs. The workers plan to rally with supporters tomorrow afternoon at 2000 Avenue of the Stars, and continue their hunger strike through Friday.
For more information on this week's events, click here.
