Janitors Protest Firing of 2 Workers : Union Claims Dismissals Were Tied to Organizing Drive

A group of 100 janitors and their union supporters held a brief but noisy demonstration Tuesday at the downtown Home Federal Savings & Loan Assn. building to protest what they say are low wages and bad working conditions.

The rally was sponsored by the Service Employees Union, Local 102, after union officials charged that two janitors who worked in the building were illegally fired by the maintenance company that contracts to clean the building’s offices. The union, which is trying to organize janitors who work downtown, charged that the two men were dismissed after endorsing the union and complaining about working conditions.

Three mounted San Diego police officers and a patrol sergeant were called to the scene after the demonstrators, who were carrying placards, crowded into the lobby for a few minutes, but the protest remained peaceful and no arrests were made.

Eliseo Medina, director of Local 102, said that DID Building Services of Long Beach fired the two workers on Friday. Medina charged that last week DID officials talked to the 25 janitors who clean the building and required them to watch an anti-union film Wednesday night. He said that the maintenance company has refused to allow union organizers to pass out sign-up cards to the workers.

“We have been signing up people at most of the buildings downtown,” Medina said. “DID supervisors told the Home Federal workers that, if anybody was seen talking to the union, they would be fired. The two workers were fired on Friday for talking to the union organizers and for speaking out at the captive audience meeting about working conditions.”

Union officials said janitors who work downtown earn an average of $3.50 an hour and are not paid overtime. In addition, the union alleged that workers do not receive benefits and are deprived of job security.

Norma Clark, DID office manager, said that company officials would not comment on Medina’s charges.

Alan Kirkhope, an attorney for Home Federal, complained that Home Federal has been put in the middle of a dispute between the union and DID. However, Kirkhope said that he has agreed to meet with Medina to discuss the union’s charges. Kirkhope also said that he has informed DID of some of the charges raised by the union and “they told me these allegations aren’t correct.”

Tuesday’s demonstration was supported by the San Diego County Democratic Central Committee and Assemblyman Peter Chacon. Beverly Miller, executive director of the party committee, told Home Federal officials during a confrontation in the lobby that “the Democratic Party is soundly behind this union.” Chacon issued a written statement saying that he was “appalled and ashamed” about the wages paid to the janitors and their working conditions.

On Monday, another maintenance company that cleans two major downtown office buildings agreed to recognize the union. North American Maintenance, which is based in Denver, is the maintenance contractor for the Wells Fargo and the Central Savings buildings on Broadway. Sherwood Elkind, president of North American Maintenance, said that the company “entered into an agreement with the union that we would recognize them.”

Medina said North American employs about 37 janitors to clean both buildings.