Tag: 1989
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“We’re sorry we weren’t able to clean your offices last night…”
Read more: “We’re sorry we weren’t able to clean your offices last night…”The glittering skyscrapers that came to dominate the downtown Los Angeles skyline often cost multiple millions of dollars to build, their owners more likely to be banks, hedge funds and multinational corporations, rather than individuals. These corporate owners outsourced their building services to property management companies who, in turn, contracted with cleaning companies who competed to offer the lowest cost services. Their customers, those who rented space in their buildings, often didn’t realize that the…
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Organizing Downtown
Read more: Organizing DowntownAmong the Justice for Janitors campaign’s first targets in Los Angeles was Bradford Building Services, a cleaning services company with dozens of contracts in skyscrapers downtown. Bradford was one of several new subcontractors providing janitorial services at buildings that had broken long-standing union contracts with SEIU Local 399. Janitors claimed Bradford was taking illegal deductions out of their paychecks, firing union organizers, and refusing to pay overtime. The Justice for Janitors campaign against Bradford was…
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Strategic research for union campaigns
Read more: Strategic research for union campaignsThis 1989 study of building service work written by Paul Schimek and published by SEIU Local 399 is an example of the union’s use of research to influence the public debate on equitable development in Los Angeles. Declaring that “Los Angeles should work for everyone,” the report highlighted the contrast between the prosperity of building owners–mainly white citizens–and the workers who cleaned buildings–mainly immigrants and women. Among other facts, the report noted that only 3%…