Janitors at the Park Meadows Mall won national coverage of their one-day strike for civil rights on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

The strike at the suburban Denver mall, which is owned by General Growth Properties, was part of a wave of protests at more than 20 GGP malls nationwide.

The Park Meadows janitors struck to protest the threats and intimidation they’ve faced for more than a year while working to form a union.

“Every worker needs liberty on the job so that we can speak up and make things better for working people and our neighborhoods and communities,” said Roberto Aragón, a Park Meadows janitor.

The cleaning contractor that employs the janitors, the Millard Group, was roughed up in a number of stories about the strike, including this article [LINK: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/40bb593c73955a0ee1a31c92d69f50e7.htm ] on CNNMoney’s website as well as local TV coverage on Fox 31 and Univision.

The Park Meadows janitors received strong support from the community at an afternoon rally that climaxed the strike. Speakers included Scott Kwasny, director of Colorado Jobs with Justice, and the Rev. Malcolm Himschoot of the United Church of Christ.

The janitors returned to work without incident Wednesday and are continuing their fight for justice. To learn more, go to: www.insideggpmalls.org.

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 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.

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.

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

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

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).