In the wake of the 1992 Uprising, the Justice for Janitors campaign joined a coalition of community organizations calling for more significant public reinvestment in the communities most impacted by the destruction of their neighborhoods. In December, they held a rally at the offices of ReBuild LA, a nonprofit formed to coordinate the city’s rebuilding efforts. Henry Weinstein, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, described that the rally had been prompted by comments made by ReBuild L.A. Co-chairman Peter V. Ueberroth announcing the launching of a job training program by Toyota, where the Justice for Janitors campaign was engaged in a contract fight. As Jim Zellers, president of SEIU Local 399 described, Ueberroth’s statement was troubling because Toyota paid the minimum wage, which “translates into an annual salary of $8,840 gross earnings, less than it costs to rent the average two-bedroom apartment in the city,” which should be a cause of great concern, “as to the ability of RLA to adequately address the needs of the city.”

Pictured here: California Assemblyman Ricardo Polanco addressed a crowd of janitors and allies at a protest at the offices of ReBuild L.A. in December, 1992.

Henry Weinstein, “Janitors Lash out at Rebuild L.A. in Rally,” Los Angeles Times Dec. 18, 1992.

Photo from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Service Workers West (USWW) records, circa 1935-2008 (LSC.1940), UCLA Library Special Collections.