On Thursday, hundreds of Chicago janitors and supporters rallied at Fifth Third Bank in Schaumburg to call for good jobs and an economic recovery that works for everyone, not just the people at the top. Janitors marched from Woodfield Mall to the bank, chanting loudly and holding purple banners reading "Value Work."

Fifth Third Bank took $3.4 billion in taxpayer-funded bailout money, and CEO Kevin Kabat was paid over $200,000--more than seven times the average teller's annual pay--for perks like country club dues, parking and estate planning. Fifth Third Bank's CEO also received a base salary increase from the year before, as well as stock and option awards valued at about $1.9 million on the days they were granted.

The average salary for a downtown janitor is about $1,950 a month, with suburban janitors making even less than that.

Thursday's march builds on momentum from the rally held earlier in the week, when 3,300 janitors marched through downtown Chicago to call on Bank of America and other banks to use federal bailout money to create jobs that will strengthen the economy, instead of paying executives excessive salaries and bonuses. Both rallies are part of an effort by SEIU Local 1 janitors and community supporters to call attention to low-wage workers struggling to keep afloat in a time when corporate CEOs are still getting multimillion dollar compensation and bonuses.

With more hardworking Americans losing their jobs and their homes every day, janitors want to protect and create good jobs that will help get this country's financial system back on track. "We're here to show that we're important in this economy too," said Alexandra Figus, who's worked as a janitor for 29 years. "We have families and homes. Our homes are going into foreclosure. I'm a mother. I have a family. That's why I'm here. We need job security."

Thursday's rally occurs as nearly 15,000 SEIU Local 1 janitors begin contract negotiations with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Chicago, including 3,000 janitors who work in suburban office buildings. The current agreement expires April 5.

On Sunday afternoon, over 3,000 janitors and community supporters crowded into the historic Chicago Theater and then marched to LaSalle Street in an effort to call attention to low-wage workers struggling to keep afloat in a time when corporate CEOs are still getting bonuses.

SEIU Local 1 janitors and other rally participants spoke about bailed-out banks--such as Bank of America--who paid huge bonuses to well-compensated executives at the same time they were eliminating jobs in the working- and middle-class sectors. "Instead of using taxpayer money to save jobs, Bank of America approved $4 billion for executive bonuses," said Urszula Przybys, a downtown janitor. "Those executives are secure and we're barely making it. They are not even being asked to take responsibility for the mess they created, but we're paying for their mistakes."

With $4 billion, Bank of America could have created nearly 175,000 jobs at an average bank teller's annual salary of $22,901. "Communities need good jobs, not more money put into pockets of the richest Americans and big corporations," said Tom Balanoff, President of SEIU Local 1.

Chicago janitors work hard to keep our community's buildings, schools and public areas sanitary, cleaning the equivalent of nearly 33,000 miles of office space every night. They work hard in a relatively thankless job with few perks, as they struggle to pay their mortgages and create a better life for their children. "We need to send a strong message that janitors deserve a living wage and better benefit," Alderman Ricardo Munoz told the audience during the Chicago Theater event.

According to the EPI, the average Chicago janitor makes $23,400 a year--not nearly enough to meet the cost of living for a family of four in the Chicago area. "We know it's tough times," said SEIU Local 1 spokeswoman Erica Hade to the Chicago Sun-Times. "Everybody is struggling. Working people are struggling to pay their mortgages and make ends meet. But we think there needs to be a partnership between everyone who's hurting to try to get our economy back on track."

The rally occurs as nearly 15,000 SEIU Local 1 janitors begin contract negotiations with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Chicago in a few days' time. Their union contract expires April 5. A second rally is scheduled for March 5 at the Fifth Third Bank in Schaumburg--stay tuned for more details later in the week.

Watch video coverage from the event here :

(video courtesy of Progress Illinois)