Port District Hires Janitorial Firm for Airport : Labor: The new company says it will attempt to hire back the workers fired by its predecessor.
With the hope of bringing labor peace to Lindbergh Field, the Board of Port Commissioners on Monday hired a San Francisco-based janitorial company to begin work Nov. 1 at the busy airport.
The selection of American Building Maintenance Co. at a cost of about $1.4 million a year comes almost two months after commissioners fired World Services Inc., which was criticized for exploiting workers and failing to live up to its contract.
The company was let go after being on the job for only one month.
World Services created troubles for the San Diego Unified Port District and Service Employees International Union, Local 102, by firing 55 of 70 union janitors and refusing to negotiate with the union.
Some of the workers had worked at the airport for more than 10 years.
The union responded by holding three protests at Lindbergh Field, which led to the arrest of several union pickets.
Both the new company and the union said Monday that they believe they can work together. The company, one of the largest of its kind in the country, has about 650 workers in San Diego County and has two existing agreements with the service employees union on separate contracts.
It also has five other airport janitorial contracts, including one at John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
John L. Harris, American Building Maintenance’s San Diego manager, told the board his company will interview and attempt to rehire the workers fired by its predecessor.
“We’re going to try and use as many former employees as were there before,” Harris said. “We feel they are valuable people who need their jobs back.”
Eliseo Medina, president of the SEIU local, was upbeat after the meeting.
“I think we’ll be able to work it out with them,” he said. “The Board of Port Commissioners wants to it to be a good contract . . . so now the ball is in our court.”
Commissioner Lynn Schenk, who was among the most critical of the performance of the old contractor, said she hopes the new contract will lead to “reasonably good labor relations.”
She told Harris the company’s work and that of its subcontractors “reflects back on us” at a place with such a high public profile as the airport.
Replied Harris: “A black eye for the port is a black eye for us.”
While the contract is for one year, the Port District has the option of renewing it for two more years.
About two dozen companies made bids for the janitorial contract, with American Building Maintenance the low bidder of those accepted. Its bid of $1.369 million was $20,000 less than the second-place finisher, CBM Industries Inc.
