Tag: Justice for Janitors
Justice for Janitors (JfJ) is a campaign of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). JfJ in Los Angeles was part of SEIU local 399, local 1877, and currently United Service Workers West (USWW).
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Peter Olney remembers life as an organizer
Read more: Peter Olney remembers life as an organizer“So I started working for the union in, like, April of 1991, and I’ll never forget meeting with Jono [Shaffer] a couple weeks before I started. He said, “You know Peter, here at the Janitors, we expect you to mobilize probably five hundred workers every week to march.” I was like, “Say what?” You know, […]
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Celebrating the Donation of the Justice for Janitors Archive from USWW to UCLA
Read more: Celebrating the Donation of the Justice for Janitors Archive from USWW to UCLAThe IRLE’s collaboration with SEIU United Service Workers West (USWW) began in 2010, which marked the 20 year anniversary of their campaign in Century City. After nearly two years of planning meetings, archival collecting, oral history interviews, focus groups, and events, the archive assembled was officially donated to the UCLA Library in April 2012, enabling […]
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Justice for Janitors History Day
Read more: Justice for Janitors History DayIn 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 […]
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“That stopped everything”: Rosa Beltran Reflects on Justice for Janitors
Read more: “That stopped everything”: Rosa Beltran Reflects on Justice for JanitorsRosa Beltran, veteran member of the SEIU’s Justice for Janitors campaign, reflects on the power of rank-and-file union members “La huelga del 2000 fue una victoria— Yo estaba fuera de mi edificio piqueteando 24 horas seguidas, 24 horas deteniendo, durmiendo, pegado a los containers de basura porque como Uniones, si la Unión de los basureros […]
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Una Causa Justa | A Just Cause
Read more: Una Causa Justa | A Just CauseThis editorial from La Opinion reflects the widespread support for the Justice for Janitors campaign in the Spanish-speaking community of Los Angeles. The writer argues that the janitors’ demands are modest, and that their aggressive campaign reflects a broad dissatisfaction with the power structure in LA. Translated from Spanish by Stephanie Dyer. A Just Cause, […]
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Civil Disobedience in Westwood
Read more: Civil Disobedience in WestwoodIn 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 […]
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“We call each other sister unions”
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Read more: “We call each other sister unions”Rocio Sáenz recalls the spirit of solidarity among unions in the early 1990s I come from Mexico City, and I had a union there. Even though, looking back at the unions in Mexico, they were often very corrupt, at the time I thought it was better than nothing. When I came to the U.S., I […]
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A Living Wage
Read more: A Living WageAs written, Los Angeles’ Living Wage Ordinance, passed by the City Council in 1997, applied to all large companies doing business with the city government. But owed to the subcontracting practices used by major airlines at LAX, the baggage handlers, wheelchair runners, security officers, and janitorial staff who worked at the airport were exempted. After […]
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Expanding the Living Wage at LAX
Read more: Expanding the Living Wage at LAXAs written, the Los Angeles Living Wage Ordinance only applied to large companies with contracts with the Los Angeles city government, exempting some 2000-3000 low-wage workers at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), including baggage handlers, wheelchair runners, security officers, and janitorial staff. Their exclusion from the ordinance was based on a legal technicality: while […]
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USC’s Workers Fight Back
Read more: USC’s Workers Fight BackIn August 1995, several union janitors working at USC were fired and replaced by non-union subcontractors with Service Master, launching a years-long struggle among service workers at USC. The campaign at USC brought together two unions and the forefront of the local labor movement: the Justice for Janitors (SEIU Local 399) campaign and HERE Local […]