Send a letter to the Editor of The Columbus Dispatch!
Last week, The Columbus Dispatch ran two articles on poverty in Ohio: “Grim report on Ohio poverty holds hope of turnaround” and “Number of families struggling continues to grow in Ohio.” The facts in these articles are stunning, especially when contrasted with the corporate profits brought in here. In Columbus alone, Fortune 1000 companies headquartered here took home $7.6 billion in profit last year – so why aren’t Ohioans doing better?
According to the Dispatch, more than 42 percent of Ohioans with incomes below the federal poverty level have either full-time or part-time jobs. Columbus janitors are among the thousands of working people who fall into this category.
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?
