With Janitors Ready to Walk Off Job at Any Time, Environmental and Labor Leaders Call for Good, Full-Time Green Jobs with Affordable Health Care
MINNEAPOLIS – Environmental organizations including the North Star Chapter of the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action joined members of SEIU Local 26 today in the Minneapolis City Hall Rotunda to make an unprecedented announcement of support for a possible strike by Twin Cities janitors should they be forced to call for one over unfair labor practices. In addition to a public endorsement, they pledged to turn out members to picket lines, donate material support, and engage members in the janitors’ public campaign for green jobs.
“Many of our members work in these commercial office buildings across the Twin Cities, and property managers should expect to hear from their tenants who are Sierra Club members,” said Sierra Club North Star Chapter Executive Director Margaret Levin. “We are just one of nearly a dozen environmental organizations in the Twin Cities that support janitors’ efforts and have pledged to support a strike if it is necessary.”
Also announcing their support for a possible strike were elected and labor leaders, who hailed the janitors’ campaign for good, full-time green jobs with affordable health care. Janitors want to make green cleaning the norm in the Twin Cities by using only products with green chemicals that are safer for workers, tenants, and the environment; and support transitions to day shift cleaning that could save building owners millions in energy costs and reduce the carbon footprint of hundreds of buildings.
“This isn’t just about janitors – it’s about making our community a better, safer place to live and work,” said Minneapolis City Council Member Gary Schiff. “It is no surprise that there are with us here today both labor unions and environmental organizations, since the need for good, green, clean energy jobs is one that we all understand.”
On Saturday, January 30, hundreds of janitors representing their over 4,000 co-workers throughout the region voted near unanimously to authorize a strike over unfair labor practices, if necessary. The affirmative vote means that the janitors who clean the vast majority of commercial office buildings and corporate headquarters in the Twin Cities region could walk off the job at any time.
“Recognizing the difficult economy, we have made innovative proposals to save money and achieve cost predictability so that it could benefit everyone,” said Javier Morillo-Alicea, President of SEIU Local 26. “Unfortunately, the companies have not been interested, and have instead responded by bargaining in bad faith and retaliating against union members. We hope it will not be necessary, but we are ready to strike.”
Janitors have been bargaining for months with their employers, including ABM, Harvard, and Marsden, and they have been working without a contract since January 8.