-
Hold the Line Caravan
Read more: Hold the Line CaravanAs the Living Wage Coalition expanded its outreach, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors announced plans to restrict eligibility to, and cut benefits for, its General Relief (or “welfare”) program in accordance with the passage of the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (better known as “welfare reform”)…
-
Living Wage Holidays Action at City Hall
Read more: Living Wage Holidays Action at City HallIn 1996, as the Los Angeles City Council’s holiday recess approached, members of the Living Wage coalition organized a Christmas-themed action at the last committee hearing on the ordinance. In the preceding weeks, they had sent delegations of workers to council offices and sent heartfelt Thanksgiving messages written by workers…
-
Lobbying Day At City Council
Read more: Lobbying Day At City CouncilThe Living Wage was the first major campaign of LAANE (Los Angeles Alliance for the New Economy, then known at the Tourism Industry Development Council), who helped to conceive of and craft the ordinance in close collaboration with HERE Local 11 (representing hospitality workers) and SEIU Local 399 (representing building…
-
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…
-
Justice for Janitors Pasadena Convention
Read more: Justice for Janitors Pasadena ConventionOn Dec. 10, 1994, Local 399 hosted a statewide convention in Pasadena, where they launched their “April One” (“One Industry, One Union, One Contract”) campaign. The campaign took its name from the expiration date of their existing contract and announced the Justice for Janitors campaign’s intention to expand their organizing…
-
Alto Prop 187
Read more: Alto Prop 187On May 28, 1994, Justice for Janitors organized a “March and Rally for the Respect and Dignity of Immigrant Rights” in Boyle Heights. The march coincided with the announcement that an extreme anti-immigrant proposition, Prop 187, would appear on the November ballot. Members gathered to defend immigrants’ “right to live…
-
“Janitors Lash Out at Rebuild L.A. in Rally”
Read more: “Janitors Lash Out at Rebuild L.A. in Rally”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…
-
No Hay Paz Sin Justicia
Read more: No Hay Paz Sin JusticiaIn April 1992, the four white LAPD officers caught on video assaulting Rodney King were acquitted on all but one of the charges against them, unleashing a wave of anger and unrest known today as the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising (commonly referred to as the L.A. Riots). The destruction and…
Similar posts:
-
Mop Man at Toyota
Read more: Mop Man at ToyotaThe Justice for Janitors campaign frequently used street theater to enliven their demonstrations and dramatize their cause. Among their most recognizable characters was a luchador named Mop Man, who in comics and performances defended janitors against abuses by the boss. Pictured here: Mop Man featured in a street theater performance at the…
-
Civil Disobedience Training in Century City
Read more: Civil Disobedience Training in Century CityHaving scored some big wins downtown, the Justice for Janitors campaign initiated a second major campaign in Century City against the Danish-owned cleaning contractor ISS (International Services Systems), the largest cleaning contracting company in the world at the time. In May, janitors working for ISS in Century City unanimously voted…