Issued June 10, 2014
Target Corporation changes course to implement workers' rights policy in contracted cleaning at stores after four years of CTUL organizing
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - After four years of organizing by Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL), Target Corporation has adopted a breakthrough policy that will protect the rights of sub-contracted janitors who clean retail stores in the Minneapolis - St. Paul metropolitan area and could pave the way for job improvements for thousands of janitors in the retail sector.
"This is an important victory for Minneapolis retail janitors, their families, and their communities," says Valarie Long, Executive Vice President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). "It could also have a far-reaching impact on the future of our country as it will lead to improvements at other Target stores nationally and give new hope to all underpaid workers fighting for justice--whether they are security officers, food-service workers, laundry workers, adjunct professors, healthcare workers, or fast-food workers." Read EVP Valarie Long's full statement here.
CTUL has partnered with the janitors - who have faced poverty wages, wage theft, and health and safety hazards - in three strikes against cleaning companies and through a year of dialogue with Target Corporation. Now Target is taking a leadership role in the industry by adopting an unprecedented Responsible Contractor Policy that will be implemented with new cleaning contracts at their stores, providing significant protections for workers' rights.
Language in the Responsible Contractor Policy includes many key elements to protect workers' rights, including:
1. Protecting and ensuring workers' rights to collectively bargain with their employers;
2. Ensuring that workers have the right to form safety committees in the workplace made up of at least 50% workers who are designated by their co-workers; and
3. Ensuring that workers are not forced to work seven days a week.
In a letter written to CTUL regarding the policy, Jodee Kozlak, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Target Corporation writes, "As Target enters into new service agreements with Twin Cities housekeeping service providers over the next few months, the company will include additional language in those contracts aimed at promoting positive and productive dialogue between Target vendors and their workers."
This victory is a crucial first step in paving the way for other retailers to implement similar agreements. The 2.1 million members of SEIU are proud to stand with CTUL in this victory.
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