Columbus janitors, security officers and community members rallied on Monday to call on business leaders to do right by working people! Janitors – who have now been without a contract for three months – are standing up for justice alongside security officers who protect our downtown buildings and are organizing to bring good jobs to their communities.
Posted 1 month ago
Tell Cleaning Contractors: Cincinnati and Columbus Janitors need their health care
Cleaning contractors have demanded a two wage freeze followed by a mere 10-cent raise for janitors, in addition to increases in health care costs and the right to cut janitors’ hours at any time. This would have a devastating effect on hundreds of working families in Ohio as janitors would not only lose access to health care, but up to half their income.
Posted 1 month ago
Columbus janitors held a prayer vigil downtown yesterday! They joined with local clergy to pray for justice for working families.
Full-time Columbus janitors are on average paid just $18,200 a year - and we know our city can do better. Right now, janitors are in the process of bargaining a new union contract to secure fair wages, full time work, and affordable healthcare. There’s a lot at stake: The concentrated poverty rate in Columbus has nearly doubled since 2000, and this can be attributed in large part to the proliferation of low wage, no-benefit jobs.
Posted 1 month ago
The Guardian: "Obamacare prompts fears for low-wage workers as employers exploit the rules"
Check out this article in The Guardian! A Cincinnati janitor spoke out against her employer wanting to cut her hours, which would keep her employer from having to provide health care under the Affordable Care Act:
In January, a janitor in Cincinnati received a piece of chilling news from one of her superiors, who had just met with upper management. The company, the supervisor said, was considering cutting some full-time employee hours down below 30 per week in order to avoid paying for new healthcare costs associated with Obamacare.
The janitor, who asked to be called Jennifer for fear of retaliation from management, is well into her 40s and now worries for her livelihood.
After over six years of working for ABM Industries, a company worth $4bn, she works full-time for $9.80 an hour. She says that with so many bills, including several monthly prescriptions, she often finds herself so short on money that she cannot eat satisfactorily. “I want to – I need to – work full-time” Jennifer said. She is a member of the local Service Employees International Union, which has struggled to bargain with ABM for better wages and steady hours.
“Every penny counts for me,” Jennifer said. “I’m working full-time and I’m still struggling to make ends meet. If I got cut down to 20 or 25 hours … oh my God, I would have no money to live on. I wouldn’t be able to pay my bills; I’d hardly afford to eat or pay for my medication. I’d be forced to look for another job.”
Posted 1 month ago
Our fellow janitors in Chicago are standing up against public school closings that are being imposed without any input from community members. If you’re in Chicago, join Lourdes as she speaks out for Chicago kids TODAY at 4pm at Daley Plaza.
You can also sign this petition to stop big banks from siphoning money away from Chicago’s public schools!
Posted 2 months ago
Last week, Columbus janitors took to the streets to demand a fair contract. This Monday, they return to the table to negotiate with the cleaning contractors who have demanded a wage freeze for janitors for the next three years, in addition to increases in health care costs and the right to cut janitors’ hours at any time.
Posted 2 months ago
Send an email to Columbus cleaning contractors to stand with our janitors!
Columbus janitors return to bargaining on March 18, and they need us to stand with them. On average, despite their hard work, Columbus janitors are paid less than $18,200 a year —below the poverty level and not nearly enough to support a family.
But Columbus cleaning contractors have demanded a wage freeze for janitors for the next three years, in addition to increases in health care costs and the right to cut janitors’ hours at any time. Will you take a minute to send an email to cleaning contractors in Columbus asking them to support good jobs for janitors?
Posted 2 months ago
Columbus janitors rallied and marched across downtown today as they prepare to resume contract bargaining on March 18th. Columbus cleaning contractors have demanded a wage freeze for janitors for the next three years, in addition to increases in health care costs and the right to cut janitors’ hours at any time. Janitors are standing up, though, and are fighting for good jobs for families across Columbus.
Check out more photos from the march here!
Posted 2 months ago
Macy’s profits were $730 Million in the 4th quarter of fiscal year 2012.
Janitors at Macy’s make as little as $9,408 per year.
The math isn’t hard. Cincinnati janitors need a living wage and a fair contract.
You can sign our petition in support of working families here, and you can check out more photos from Saturday’s rally on Facebook here.
Posted 2 months ago
On Saturday, March 2, more than 100 janitors and community supporters marched to Macy’s — a major commercial office building owner in Cincinnati — to rally for a fair contract.
So far, cleaning contractors that clean Macy’s and other buildings have refused to budge from their offer of a ten cent raise for janitors after a three year wage freeze. Contractors also want to cut hours and increase health insurance costs to janitors who are already paid just $18,000 a year on average for full time work– below the poverty line for a family of three.
Check out more photos from the rally on Facebook here!
Columbus and Cincinnati janitors clean the headquarters of some of the biggest and most profitable corporations in the country. Despite their hard work, full-time janitors in Cincinnati and Columbus are on average paid less than $18,200 a year—below the poverty level and not nearly enough to support a family. They are now trying to negotiate new contracts with the cleaning contractors who employ them. Will you join them to take a stand for living wages and benefits?
