SEIU and Justice for Janitors (SEIU)
Founding of the SEIU and the creation of Justice for Janitors
One of the first unions to represent janitors, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), was created in 1921 by immigrant janitors (SEIU925.com). Today, in addition to representing janitors in the division titled "Property Services", SEIU is the "fastest growing union in North America" with 1.8 million members representing workers in fields from healthcare to public service (SEIU.org). Janitors for Justice was founded as the activist movement within SEIU in 1986, in response to undercutting schemes enacted between corporations and independent contracting services which provided janitorial services to companies and buildings. According to author Carter Wright:
"Throughout the 1980s, large real estate owners sought to shed costs by contracting cleaning services out to building service contractors, who competed by pushing down wages and underbidding rival contractors. If the union asked building owners for a raise, the owners shrugged off any responsibility and passed the buck on to the contractors that technically employed the workers. When the union went to confront the contractor, it would claim it couldn't afford a raise because the owner paid so little for cleaning services" (Wright 12).
Because of this ruse, wages were nearly cut in half and health benefits were almost entirely removed from janitors in the mid 1980s (Wright). However, Justice for Janitors found success in coercing janitorial contracting companies into sharing the profits which they were earning from their exploitation by creating communities of janitors in an individual urban area.
Activism and Techniques Utilized by Justice for Janitors
One of the reasons which SEIU and Justice for Janitors is so successful is the aforementioned creation of a community of janitors. This is the strategy taken by SEIU according to a 2005 article in the The Economist:
"Rather than mounting a campaign at each workplace separately, it will negotiate one big industry-wide contract. This, in theory, eliminates each cleaning company's fear of being undercut by competitors if it allows higher wages. The companies agreed to stay neutral. The strategy bypasses the National Labour Relations Board, which usually oversees the unionisation of workers. That is a bonus in a place like Houston, where undocumented workers would rather not get the government involved."
As such, since many buildings nationwide have their custodial services managed by larger corporations in multiple cities, Justice for Janitors and SEIU worked to make as many contracts expire in 2000 as possible, allowing for a nationwide movement for increased rights for janitors. Justice for Janitors also commonly includes local religious, ethnic, and political organizations in their movement for social equality. This aspect of involving the community helps bring a larger voice to the mediation which SEIU oversees. (Economist)
The Mayor of San Jose, California gives a speech at a SEIU rally
However, when mediation and arbitration are unsuccessful, Justice for Janitors takes large strides to inform building owners that it is their responsibility to ensure that contractors adequately pay and support their employees. Specific instances of Janitors for Justice action can be seen in the 2000 movie Bread and Roses. In this film, protests by other janitors in front of non-unionized buildings are organized by Janitors for Justice. When this is ineffective, spokesmen from Janitors for Justice even attempt to work their way into a building-wide luncheon, in which all executives in the building are informed of the injustices executed upon the janitors in their building. Hunger strkes, civil disobedience , and walkouts are also common strategies which Justice for Janitors utilizes to achieve their mission.
Results of Justice for Janitors
While many janitors still exist without representation in the United States of America, where the SEIU has able to gain a foothold, it has gained improvement for its members. In Los Angeles, janitors will be receiving an average of a 25% raise in the next 3 years (Wright). Justice for Janitors has organized 225,000 workers in its 20 years in existance. Currently, movements that were successful for worker improvements in Los Angeles, New York and Denver are being executed in Houston, Miami, Cincinnati and Indianapolis (SEIU.org).
Relations to Race, Class and Gender
Custodial professions are a vital part of the American economy and differ from other unionized professions in the way that they cannot be outsourced. While coal mining, automobile production, and other unionized industries can be moved to other countries where labor laws allow lesser rights for their employees, there will always be buildings that need to be cleaned in the United States. As such, employers look for those that will work for less than the average salary in America. Unfortunately, these employees generally end up being those who are trapped under the glass ceiling of the lower class: Women, immigrants (documented and undocumented), and racialized others in a society that still implicitly discriminates against them. This is the classic example of the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer.
Due to the fact that protesters are comprised of such a diverse background, they often face the wrath of abusive supervisors and police officers. One janitor, Ericilia Sandoval, claims "Our supervisor screams at us all the time and he even throws cleaning supplies from our carts on the floor and makes us pick them up." She further claims that she was also sexually harassed. A more widespread example of violence occurred on June 15, 1990, in which 500 SEIU janitors for were brutally beaten by police officers in Central City, CA. This day is held in memory as Justice for Janitors Day, to commemorate the struggle and losses of these protesters (SEIU.org).
SEIU claims that it "represents more immigrants than any other union", further claiming to be among the most diverse unions in America. SEIU also claims that 50% of its leadership are women and people of color, which shows that the organization believes that race and gender are directly tied to their social movement. As such, the SEIU also campaigns for immigration reform, specifically protesting the 2006 H.R. Bill 4437, which would make "illegal" immigration a felony and punish employers that hired undocumented migrants. Thus, this push for equality shows that SEIU understands that it cannot alienate certain workers in order to protect others. As such, the nature of SEIU is one of true community understanding, organizing workers by class, ignoring race and gender, in order for the general improvement of workers in their profession.
