Union contract upholds superior industry standards for more than 300 door attendants, handymen, janitors, and other residential workers

San Francisco, CA - On Thursday, October 8, more than 300 residential service workers announced that they have ratified a new three-year union contract with the owners of more than 50 San Francisco residential buildings. The contract will maintain superior residential industry standards for workers' wages and benefits including affordable family health insurance and a secure pension.

"It is heartening to come to an agreement with residents and building owners that upholds the San Francisco values of respect, dignity and opportunity for all hardworking people," said Andrea Deheldorf, SEIU Local 1877 Vice President.

The contract is an agreement between residential workers' union, SEIU Local 1877 - United Service Workers West, and the "Condominium/Cooperative Employers Council of San Francisco," a group representing the owners of apartment and condominium buildings in the Nob Hill, Russian Hill, and other neighborhoods throughout San Francisco. Residential workers ratified the contract by an over 80 percent majority vote, and the Condominium/Cooperative Employers Council voted to approve the agreement on Wednesday, October 7. The contract is now effective between October 1, 2009 and September 30, 2012.

"For veteran residential workers like myself, this contract is a huge victory in upholding the standards we've built up in our industry over decades," said Emmanuel Eric, a door attendant and member of the Bargaining Committee. "The wage increases, maintenance of our current healthcare plan, and assurance of retirement security will allow our families to remain in the city and weather these difficult economic times."

Under the new contract, the Condominium/Cooperative Employers Council will continue to provide quality, affordable health insurance benefits for all San Francisco residential workers and their families. In negotiations, residential workers fought hard to maintain their current benefits, and were successful in avoiding a switch to a high deductible health plan. The new contract also maintains decent wages and ensures wage increases for the residential workers.

The new contract also maintains residential workers' pension, with employers agreeing to pay an additional surcharge for each employee hour worked under a "Trust Fund Improvement Plan" option to secure the pension fund despite the faltering stock market. Workers covered under the union pension plan are assured of their benefits despite ups and downs in the economy.

While the new contract will improve working conditions for the majority of San Francisco's residential workers, it will not impact workers at a few buildings whose owners sub-contract apartment service jobs to companies that pay low wages and offer diminished benefits. At one such building, 101 Lombard Street, janitors with between three and nineteen years of service were recently fired when their Homeowners Association hired a tiny, unknown contracting company called "Luis Janitorial," which offers poverty wages and no healthcare coverage to janitors. At 1001 California Street, building owners recently sub-contracted doormen to a contractor that pays lower wages and offers no affordable family health care or pension.

"We will continue to fight the unscrupulous building owners who bypassed the negotiation process and are implementing sub-standard working conditions for residential workers," said Vice President Dehlendorf. "This behavior is unacceptable and out-of-line in a city where the majority of residential buildings have agreed to respect workers' top-quality service."

SEIU Local 1877 is part of SEIU United Service Workers West (USWW), a union of more than 40,000 janitors, security officers, airport service workers, and other property service workers across California. Nationwide, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is the fastest growing labor union in the Americas with more than 2 million members.

For more information visit www.SEIU-USWW.org.

In 2002, Senator Ted Kennedy walked the picket lines, held a press conference, and rallied public support for 10,000 Massachusetts janitors fighting for their first contract. His dedication and continued presence throughout the long negotiations helped some of Massachusetts hardest-working and most underpaid workers win a livable wage and access to healthcare----even for part-time janitors.

The year before that, Kennedy stood with several hundred students, activists and SEIU Local 254 (now Local 615) protesting Harvard's failure to provide a ''living wage'' of $10.25 to all its employees, including property service workers. He wrote these words in a letter he sent to activists and workers before their sit-in began:

I have always believed that workers in this great country of ours deserve a living wage.

The issue of whether employers should pay a living wage is a question of the dignity of workers. Are we as a community going to respect individuals that work long and hard, who care for their families, who are our neighbors and friends, who take great pride in their work? I firmly believe that no one who works for a living should have to live in poverty, and I think most Americans understand that, too.

Whether you are employed directly by Harvard or by subcontractors, whether you are full-time or part-time, you perform difficult work with pride and dignity and you deserve to be treated fairly.

Then again in 2006, Kennedy was there for over 250 Harvard security officers who were fighting for a contract. He used whatever connections he had to get the employers to do the right thing. In 2007, he stood in support of janitors trying to get a renewed contract and sent letters of support--they ended up getting a wage that was close to $13.

"From the fight for decent wages and benefits to his pioneering work on healthcare and immigration reform, Kennedy was there, always championing the little guy," recalled Rocio Saenz, President of SEIU Local 615 in Boston and Vice President of SEIU International. "With all of the fights to improve the lives of our workers, he was there. When we won the contract, he was on top of it. He would call and say "this is just so great--such great news for workers..."

Learn more about Senator Kennedy's legacy on SEIU.org, and help us honor him by sharing your memories. Sign our online card to Senator Kennedy's family.

On June 9, dozens of janitors laid off from Cisco Systems in San Jose, CA ended a 7-day hunger fast protesting the company's corporate greed and unfair treatment. Check out this new video SEIU United Service Workers West created documenting the breaking of the fast:

The janitors at Cisco Systems first began protesting the corporation--which currently has more than $34 billion in cash assets on hand--when contractor ABM Industries Inc. laid off more than 40 percent of its total janitorial workforce in February. The janitors that remain on the job at Cisco are now being forced to shoulder higher workloads.

The important principle these fasting janitors have sacrificed so much to make: a company that has $34 billion in cash assets and paid its CEO $18.8 million last year shouldn't just stand by while $12-an-hour workers are let go by the contractor Cisco hired to work on its campus.

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
June 26, 1990

By Bob Baker

A large international cleaning company and striking janitors announced Monday that they had tentatively settled a noisy and sometimes ugly three-week work stoppage that affected most of Century City's office towers.

Denmark-based ISS International Service System Inc., the nation's largest commercial cleaning contractor, agreed to a union contract for between 500 and 700 of its janitorial employees in Los Angeles.

The settlement, reached in the wake of a violent May 15 demonstration that resulted in 40 arrests and 16 injuries, represented a clear victory for the workers, most of them Latino immigrants.

The strikers lived on $100-a-week strike pay and food giveaways from the 925,000-member Service Employees International Union and paraded through Century City with picket signs condemning the glitzy office community as "luxury by day, sweatshop by night."

As union members, the janitors, who now receive about $4.50 an hour, will receive immediate pay increases of 10% to 15%. Next spring they will begin receiving health insurance, vacations and sick pay. They will be paid under an existing master agreement between SEIU Local 399 and two-dozen large downtown office buildings cleaned by ISS competitors.

The settlement grants Local 399 recognition as the janitors' bargaining representative not only in Century City but throughout the local's Los Angeles jurisdiction, including a dozen other downtown office buildings cleaned by ISS.

Janitors, who ceased picketing Monday morning, will hold a ratification vote today. The union expects widespread approval.

The strike began May 29 when the majority of 180 janitors in 13 Century City buildings walked out to protest alleged unfair labor practices and to pressure ISS for union recognition.

"To make a giant stride like this is unbelievable," said Jono Shaffer, a union organizer who has worked with Los Angeles janitors for the past three years as part of SEIU's national "Justice For Janitors" organizing program.

Shaffer faces a misdemeanor "urging to riot" charge stemming from his leadership of the May 15 demonstration.

"We look forward to being on a new footing with these guys," said Christopher Burrows, an attorney representing ISS.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said the May 15 demonstration brought a new sense of urgency to the labor dispute.

Los Angeles police cut short a march by 400 pro-union demonstrators in Century City, clubbing men and women repeatedly to force them to turn back on Olympic Boulevard. Widespread television footage of the police action created substantial sympathy for the janitors and anger among national leaders of organized labor.

During informal talks between the union and ISS in New York on Friday, the president of an SEIU local representing 74,000 New York janitors reportedly threatened to send ISS' 5,000 New York janitors out on strike if a settlement with the Century City janitors was not reached.

Talks were moved to Chicago on Sunday. After eight hours of negotiations a tentative settlement was signed.

The settlement calls for both sides to drop all lawsuits against each other as well as all National Labor Relations Board complaints. But the union is continuing to pursue a $10-million claim against the city of Los Angeles growing out of injuries suffered in the May 15 demonstration.

The Century City strike was a contentious, complicated power struggle that held strong significance for those segments of organized labor concerned with immigrant workers.

In the early 1980s, most janitors in Los Angeles worked under a standard union contract that provided health benefits and pay of about $7 an hour. But a flood of Central American immigrants allowed non-union contractors to underbid union contractors. The lack of a strong organizing presence resulted in many buildings becoming non-union and pay dropping drastically.

The "Justice For Janitors" campaign was effective enough to double the proportion of unionized janitors in downtown Los Angeles, to about 65% of those working in large buildings. But Century City remained a non-union bastion. This was particularly frustrating to union organizers because ISS, Century City's prime cleaning contractor, had signed union contracts in other U.S. cities. The union contended that by operating non-union, ISS was exploiting the vulnerable nature of Latino immigrants.

The union also tried to put pressure on JMB Realty Corp., a national building maintenance company that hired ISS in many of the Century City buildings. But there was little apparent movement until the union's march from a Beverly Hills park into Century City exploded.

"What happened crystallized the issues and pointed out this glaring gap between people who clean these luxurious skyscrapers and the people who inhabit them," said David Sickler, the AFL-CIO's regional director. "The gap resembles that of Third World countries."

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley reacted to the demonstration by issuing a rare call for a Police Commission investigation of tactics by police and demonstrators.

Despite the settlement, the union said Monday it will go through with a second Beverly Hills-to-Century City march scheduled for Thursday. Leaders said the march will attempt to assert their right to demonstrate. On Friday a union attorney obtained a Superior Court order which restrains police from cutting the next march short on the same grounds officers employed May 15 -- their suspicion, rather than on-the-spot proof, that demonstrators planned to disrupt traffic in Century City.

Watch a short video* documenting the June 15, 1990 incident

June 15th has been observed for 19 years in the U.S. as Justice for Janitors Day, a day when janitors and other workers who secure, clean, and maintain office buildings demonstrate for justice. The original Justice for Janitors Day was established after janitors in Los Angeles were beaten by police during a peaceful demonstration on June 15, 1990. The incident generated intense public outrage and resulted in the cleaning contractor recognizing the L.A. janitors in a union. In remembrance of that monumental day, SEIU janitors and supporters take action every June 15 in cities nationwide. This day is also observed around the globe as International Justice Day.

On Monday, SEIU Local 49 janitors held a rally and march in Portland in remembrance of Justice for Janitors Day and to send a message to Portland real estate interests that even in tough economic times, the men and women who keep the city's buildings clean expect their contract to be followed.

Last year, SEIU Local 49 janitors won a major improvement in their multi-employer union contract -- company-paid health coverage for their children. This July, the janitors are supposed to receive a $0.50 per hour raise in pay. Local elected officials Jeff Cogen, Multnomah County Commissioner; Sam Adams, Portland Mayor; and Nick Fish, Portland City Councilor, attended the J4J rally to echo the janitor's concerns that low-wage workers can't accept any steps backwards to help wealthy property owners balance their budgets.

Since 1985, more than 225,000 janitors in 30 cities throughout the U.S. and Canada have united through SEIU's Justice for Janitors (J4J) campaign.

For two days now, dozens of janitors, members of faith and community supporters have had absolutely nothing to eat, only drinking water as they determinedly camp out outside of Cisco System's corporate headquarters in San Jose. This fasting will go on for at least another five days, with new participants joining the fast each day at 1 p.m., when a religious leader from the Interfaith Council will conduct a ceremony blessing them.

The janitors at Cisco Systems began protesting the corporation--which currently has more than $34 billion in cash assets on hand--when contractor ABM Industries Inc. laid off more than 40 percent of its total janitorial workforce in February. The janitors that remain on the job at Cisco are now being forced to shoulder higher workloads. Shouldn't more work = more pay? Cisco doesn't think so. The only thing these janitors have experienced an increase in since their coworkers were laid off is the threat to their health and safety.

The hopeful outcome of this fast? That Cisco will live up to its claims of "corporate social responsibility" and put the common good ahead of corporate greed by reinstating the laid-off janitors.

Targeting low-wage service workers for layoffs while protecting enormous profits is a sad pattern we've seen emerge more and more in recent months from big corporations. We'll bring you more about the janitors' struggle in the coming days. In the meantime, visit www.justiceatcisco.com and check out photos from Day 1 of the fast here.

Take action to support these fasting janitors by sending a letter to Cisco CEO John Chambers now.

Union members in California and across the country earn significantly more than non- union workers.

Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages in California were on average 12.7 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else equal, California workers that join a union will earn 12.7 percent more--or $2.87 more per hour in 2008 dollars--than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts. [Unions are Good for California's Economy, 2/18/09]

Latino Union Workers Earn More & Have Better Benefits. The most recent data suggest that even after controlling for differences between union and non- union workers --including such factors as age and education level -- unionization substantially improves the pay and benefits received by Latino workers. After controlling for workers' characteristics, the union wage premium for all Latino workers is 17.6 percent or about $2.60 per hour. The union advantage for Latino workers is even larger with respect to health insurance and pension coverage. Unionized Latino workers were about 26 percentage points more likely to have health insurance and about 27 percentage points more likely to have a pension than their non-union counterparts. [CEPR Report: Unions and Upward Mobility for Latino Workers, 9/08]

• The Janitors for Justice campaign in California produced wage increases of 22 to 26 percent for mostly Latino workers. In April 2000, "some 8,500 janitors represented by the SEIU won raises of 22 percent to 26 percent after a highly publicized three-week strike." The janitors were "mostly immigrant Latinos making less than $ 7 per hour." [The Daily News of Los Angeles, 11/5/00]

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)

Houston Service Workers' Clinic Provides Model for Labor-Business Cooperation in Other Cities

In a city where one in three residents live without health care, the unveiling of a new clinic in Houston that will offer low-cost, quality care to over 5,300 of the area's commercial office janitors is an innovative step in the right direction.

The new Houston Service Workers' Clinic isa joint project resulting from a groundbreaking labor-business partnership between SEIU janitors and business and community leaders to make health care more accessible for low-wage workers. Launching in early February 2009, the clinic could also provide a model for other cities also struggling with a growing number of uninsured.

The Houston Business Journal provides a few more details on the clinic:

"The Houston Service Workers Clinic will provide primary health care for service workers at a cost to them of just $20 a month, with their employers kicking in $185 a month per worker to cover 100 percent of the workers' treatment."

Healthcare coverage for $205 a month per worker is a cost equivalent to less than one-third of a penny per square foot of rental space in Houston's downtown buildings (where SEIU janitors work every day). The clinic will be staffed by physicians and other health professionals from Baylor College of Medicine, and Cigna Healthcare will provide insurance coverage for medical care beyond what the clinic will offer.

The unveiling of this clinic comes as thousands of Houston janitors celebrate the anniversary of the 2006 month-long strike that put a human face on the city's healthcare crisis. The agreement reached at the end of the month-long strike increased hourly wages for the janitors represented by SEIU, many of whom had been earning as little as $20 a day without benefits. In addition, the five major cleaning contractors involved agreed to offer their employees longer hours, paid holidays, vacation time and health insurance, starting in 2009.

"Two years ago I stood beside the Mayor and told the world 'Houston won big,'" said Mercedes Herrera, a Houston janitor who helped lead the workers' historic strike. "Today we celebrate another victory for Houston families as we open our health care clinic."

HOUSTON - SEIU janitors and corporate leaders joined together today to unveil the new Houston Service Workers' Clinic, a groundbreaking labor-business partnership that could provide a model for other cities also struggling with the crisis in health care.

The clinic is a joint project between janitors and responsible business and community leaders - including Cigna Health and Baylor College of Medicine - to make health care more accessible for low-wage workers. It will provide quality, affordable care to more than 5,300 commercial office janitors for only $205 a month per worker - less than one-third of a penny per square foot of rental space in downtown buildings.

"This innovative program goes hand-in-hand with the mission of Baylor College of Medicine's Department of Family and Community Medicine to provide patient-centered medical care and serve as a force for promoting health in the community," said Dr. John C. Rogers, interim chair of the department. "This program offers a creative approach to bringing a new group into the ranks of the insured. Our physicians will offer the highest quality primary care and serve as a gateway for specialized care."

Its unveiling comes as thousands of Houston janitors celebrate the anniversary of a month-long strike that put a human face on the city's healthcare crisis.

"Two years ago I stood beside the Mayor and told the world 'Houston won big,'" said Mercedes Herrera, a Houston janitor who helped lead the workers' historic strike. "Today we celebrate another victory for Houston families as we open our health care clinic."

Nearly 46 million Americans don't have health coverage, including one in three Houstonians. As health costs rise year after year, many more Americans risk losing their coverage. Seeking a national solution, SEIU is engaging healthcare workers through Healthcare United, voters through Americans for Health Care, plus business leaders and stakeholders from all walks of life.

Marquise Facilities Corporation asked to respect worker rights

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLOMBIA-- A delegation of students at Langara College delivered a petition to the school's administration yesterday demanding the school intervene to protect the rights of workers who clean the campus.

Students are concerned for the welfare of over 30 workers after it was announced that the company they work for had lost the contract to clean the college and would be replaced by a different cleaning contractor in January. To date workers haven't been told if they will keep their current wages and benefits or even if they will have jobs with the new contractor.

"We don't earn much money. I have no savings. I can't afford to lose my job. This is horrible news to get right before the holidays. Many of us have worked here for years. I hope the college stands up for us," said Lakhvir Shokar a cleaning worker.

The petition, which contained over 300 hundred signatures, calls on the College to direct the new cleaning contractor, Marquise Facilities Corporation, to retain the current employees, ensure they don't suffer a reduction in wages or benefits and to recognize their union, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

SEIU spokesperson Anu Sharma says that the union has sent a letter to Marquise Facilities Corporation asking the company to respect the rights of workers and hasn't ruled out pickets and other actions at the college if they are not.

The Service Employees International Union is the largest and fastest growing union in North America, with 100,000 workers in Canada and 2 million workers across Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico.

For more information, visit SEIU Local 2 Canada