Justice for Janitors History Day – Power from the Past

In conjunction with the 20 year anniversary of their Campaign in Century City, Justice for Janitors (now part of SEIU United Service Workers West, SEIU-USWW) formed a partnership with the IRLE to uncover, preserve, analyze, and communicate the history of their union. Our collecting efforts began in the basement of the union hall, where decades worth of membership records, research materials, and photographs and ephemera were stored, but we knew that archive was incomplete. Eager to seek out other reservoirs of memories and materials, in May 2011, the union hosted a “Justice for Janitors History Day,” inviting veteran members and their families to share their stories and artifacts.

Gaspar Rivera Salgado speaks with a veteran union activist while admiring a photo album.

One long-time union member, Victoria Marquez, brought an extensive collection of documents, buttons, t-shirts, and other items. Marquez was raised in El Salvador and had been inspired to join the student protest movement in San Salvador as a teenager. But as the brutality and repression of the civil war escalated, she and her family sought refuge in the United States. She joined the Justice for Janitors while working as a janitor in Santa Monica and become a shop steward and member-leader in the 2000 strike. Her collection of pins and t-shirts, which she proudly displayed at the event, colorfully illustrates her many years of service to her union.