SEIU Local 105

home

Property Services Division

Rep Morgan Carroll speaks in support of janitors freedom to form a union at Park Meadows Mall

Justice for Janitors Rally at Park Meadows Mall
Above: Rep. Morgan Carroll (District 36) speaks in
support of janitors at Park Meadows Mall who
are standing up for the freedom to form a union.

Mall Janitors Are Standing Up for Freedom

Many mall janitors employed by cleaning contractors the Millard Group and
Service Management Systems are paid poverty wages, have no access to
affordable health care, and have no voice, dignity or respect on the job.

When janitors stood up for the good jobs our community needs by forming
a union, mall owner General Growth Properties and its cleaning contractors
cracked down, illegally interrogating, spying on, discriminating against, threatening
to fire, and even firing workers who supported their union, according to charges files
with the National Labor Relations Board.

GGP mall janitors are standing up for civil rights at Park Meadows, which is
owned by the second largest mall owner in the country. Janitors are standing up
against GGP’s cleaning contractor Millard to say that civil rights abuses will not
be tolerated.

Employees should be able to choose a voice at work, without interference.

For more information, visit www.insideggpmall.org

Read story about the rally at Colorado Confidential.

Photos of Aug. 25 Rally at Park Meadows Mall:

Kaiser Clinic Janitors Win Big Victory

The 160 janitors, largely part-time, who clean Kaiser clinics in Colorado won a huge victory night with their company, Aramark, after months of negotiations. Union members met on July 21, and voted to ratify and accept the agreement.

Among the highlights are the following:

A phase in of access to family health insurance so that by the end of the contract, all workers who want it will have access.
10% increase in wages over 3 years, with increases being frontloaded: $0.40, $0.35, $0.30
Sick day accrual increased from 21 to 39 days
Three weeks vacation after 4 years
Now a total of 10 holidays
Life insurance for all employees who have 30 hours or more
Temp employees now covered under CBA giving them same wages and benefits and taking away incentive to use temp employees instead of existing workforce.
As positions are vacated, the hours must be offered first to existing employees before new employees are hired.
Stronger monthly reporting language for compliance purposes.

Janitors who clean clinics for Kaiser discuss tentative contract agreement with Aramark on July 21 2007

Janitors meet to discuss and vote on contract.


Shown from left to right: Bargaining Team members Roberto Hernandez, Humberto Sandoval and Tom Swaw. Not shown: Roxanna Mejia and Isabel Sanchez.	SEIU Local 105 member at Aramark votes on the contract.

Click on the icon at right to watch video

of bargaining team member Roberto

Hernandez speaking about the contract in Spanish.

Thanks to our amazing bargaining team: Roberto Hernandez, Humberto Sandoval, Isabel Sanchez, Roxanna Mejia and Tom Swaw. Thanks also goes out to our researcher Kathy Michienzi and our intern Paul Balanoff who did the important number crunching and analysis.

Otra vez, se pudo!

Janitors in Boulder County Win Back Pay and Raises

Pacific Maintenance workers in Boulder County have won a huge victory in negotiations with the company. Since 2005, the union has been in negotiations over back pay owed to workers according to the contract. In an agreement reached on April 11, the workers won immediate pay increases of $0.58 to $1.26 and over $42,000 in back-pay. These 40 workers will now join the 2,200 workers of the Master Contract for the Denver Metro Area. They get another $0.15 immediate raise and fully paid healthcare next year along with other workers in the new suburban zones.

Workers win back pay and raises

Pacitic Maintenance workers gather to receive back pay checks from settlement.

Victory for Janitors
at Aurora Mall

National Agreement Paves the Way
for Better Working Conditions.

read more

July 26 2006 protest

RTD Approves ‘Worker Supportive’ Contractor Policy

Board Takes Proactive Step to Increase Quality and Lower Turnover

Denver – At a regular meeting of the RTD Board on August 15, the board of directors approved a new “Worker Supportive” contractor policy for janitors working at its facilities. The policy will impact about 25 janitors.

The policy has two distinct pieces: it requires contractors to pay janitors the prevailing wage (currently at $10.50/hour) and it requires contractors to provide health care coverage for full time employees.

"The RTD Board vote raises the bar of the contracting process and ensures best value to the public and the best outcome for workers and their community," said Local 105 President Mitch Ackerman.

The coverage must be at least as comprehensive as the Kaiser HMO plan that the rest of the downtown janitors enjoy, and RTD will reimburse up to $235/month per full time employee.

Similar wages and benefits for janitors have been established at a great majority of large commercial office buildings in the metro area, and have improved stability and raised quality standards in the industry.

News stories about the RTD decision:
Article in August 16, 2006 Denver Post >> link
Article in August 16, 2006 Rocky Mountain News >> link

Janitors at Aurora Mall Uniting for Justice

Janitors at the Town Center of Aurora, owned by Simon Property Group have begun organizing for better pay and working conditions. Employed by Federal Building Services, which is a subcontract of Varsity Contractors, most janitors at Town Center of Aurora make only $7.00 per hour, with no access to affordable health care >> more

How Justice for Janitors Benefits Workers and the Community
What janitors have won by uniting with SEIU, including a comparison of working conditions for union and non-union janitors >> more

About the Property Services Division
Representing over 3,000 janitorial workers throughout metro Denver employed by 22 different, janitorial contractors and more than 600 workers in the airport and allied industries.

SEIU's successful strategy has been to focus on organizing the whole janitorial industry to create area wide standards that provide living wages and healthcare. Starting in the 80’s, SEIU Local 105 worked to organize downtown janitors in major buildings (about 1,000). In 1999, an additional 1,000 janitors were united from Denver’s eastern and southeastern suburbs (Cherry Creek, part of Aurora and Englewood/DTC). This past spring, SEIU Local 105 successfully added yet another 500 janitors in the Northern and Western Suburbs (Jefferson and Boulder County).