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Justice for Janitors

Background:
Historically, the janitorial industry has been made up primarily of low-wage workers little or no access to affordable health care, paid time off, a living wage or full-time work.  Through organizing, janitors have been able to improve the quality of their lives and their industy.

Workers' Benefit:

Union Standards	Non-Union Standards
Hourly pay from $7.90 to $10 per hour with annual increases.	Hourly pay as low as $5.15 per hour with few if any increases over time.
Fully paid health insurance for full-time workers, with a process to transition to family health insurance.	Access to health insurance rare, and usually very expensive.
A process to transition a set number of workers each year to full-time work.	Overwhelmingly a part-time workforce.
Additional benefits like paid vacations and paid holidays/personal days.	No paid vacation, holidays or personal days (for part-time).
Job security and stability.	No job security or stability.
Respect on the job.	Lack of respect on the job.
A voice on the job.	No protected voice.

The Community Benefit:
Because organized janitors have better pay, health care, full-time work and paid time off, they are able to spend more time with their families. When people are better able to take care of their families, our whole community benefits. When families have access to more resources, it eases the burden on public services and taxpayers.

The Employer Benefit:
Companies who provide fair wages and health benefits for their employees have lower turnover and higher quality of services than those that do not. Higher quality increases client satisfaction, thus increasing revenue and raising profits. Reducing turnover helps to create a more stable, productive workforce, and reduces the cost of constantly recruiting and training employees.