Civil Disobedience in Westwood – Power from the Past

In the year 2000, Justice for Janitors mobilized its most ambitious campaign to date: a two-week long strike across the city of Los Angeles. Under the slogan “One Industry,” they sought to align contracts they had won in various parts of Los Angeles (downtown, Century City, LAX, etc.) to raise wages and working conditions for all janitorial workers in the city. The Year 2000 Strike included a series of dramatic actions, including a nearly 10-mile march from Staples Center through Beverly Hills, and this civil disobedience action in Westwood.

Black and white photograph of four people sitting in the street holding hands in a circle. The man on the left is in a suit and looks to his right. The woman next to him speaks with a reporter crouched to the ground. They are surrounded by protestors shouting and moving in various directions. — Former L.A. City Council members Jackie Goldberg and Gilbert Cedillo, both then serving in the California State Assembly, speak with reporters while participating in a civil disobedience action in support of the Justice for Janitors campaign in 2000. Photo by Slobidan Dimitrov, IRLE Archives.

The Year 2000 Strike was successful: the Justice for Janitors campaign won a new city-wide contract. And, surging on the momentum of their victory, the union (Local 1877 SEIU) expanded their organizing in new directions. First, they launched a campaign to organized security guards in the buildings where they represented janitorial staff called “Security Officers United of Los Angeles” (SouLA). Second, they expanded their organizing among janitorial workers into Orange County where, as one veteran organizer recalled, the workers told them, “We were waiting for you.”

Striking street-level view of a group of people sitting in the middle of an intersection in a circle holding hands, most with their backs to the camera. In the foreground of the image are five police officers standing over them holding battons. Surrounding them on the sidewalks are protestors carrying banners and picket signs. There is a street sign visible that reads "Wilshire" — Members of the Justice for Janitors campaign and their supporters engage in civil disobedience on Wilshire Blvd. in Westwood in 2000. Photo by Slobidan Dimitrov, IRLE Archives.

Photographs of the Westwood Civil Disobedience Action by Slobidan Dimitrov, from the IRLE Archives.

You can watch a video of the civil disobedience action in Westwood here: