‘Privatizing’ Doesn’t Have to Mean Pauperizing : Public jobs: Savings shouldn’t come at workers’ expense through poverty wages.

Wages, benefits and productivity have gone up since 1970, but not for all working women and men in America. As both the private and public sectors continue to “downsize,” ever more positions go from full time to part time and from jobs with health care to those without.

No group has been more deeply affected by these negative trends than janitors. And in particular, public-sector janitors face an additional burden called “privatization.” With privatization comes a virtually untested view of the world: that the private sector is always more efficient and cost-effective in delivering services than the public sector. Common wisdom proclaims that the private sector is going to accomplish the same tasks at a lower price because it is better run.

But when we get to the heart of the matter, we find that private-sector jobs simply pay less for the same work while increasing workload and eliminating benefits. And the private sector uses a much higher percentage of part-time workers.

For janitors, contracting out government jobs is particularly harsh. Thousands of workers in Los Angeles today are employed by contractors to clean public facilities for a fraction of what city and county workers earn. While public officials and contractors each blame the other for the extremely low wages and lack of benefits, these workers are trapped in poverty (most are paid well below $12,000 a year) with little hope of even modest improvements in their working conditions.

There is a debate about whether to privatize even more services. If the private sector is more efficient, if it can keep administrative overheard lower, government must look at the possibility of privatization. But long before doing that to loyal and hard-working public employees, government must review and revamp how it is organized and managed. And if and when public-sector managers are unable or unwilling to make their service delivery more effective and efficient, then contracting out could be considered.

We should learn lessons where we have already contracted out. The LAX example shows us that in any case, it is essential that city and county contracts require that savings come from greater efficiency and productivity--not from dramatic decreases in wages, benefits, hours and working conditions. The city of West Hollywood this year adopted a new policy requiring janitorial contractors doing city work to provide union standards and representation to their employees. San Jose has also adopted strict guidelines. The City and County of Los Angeles should join them in adopting policies regarding contracted work.

For the Los Angeles Justice for Janitors campaign of the Service Employees International Union, this is not just a moral issue. It is an economic one. Decent paying jobs are necessary if the economy is to get the boost it needs to recover from our deep recession. It is impossible to heal this city if people are unable to rise out of poverty even when they are fully employed.

Justice for Janitors has campaigned aggressively for the last six years to organize low-wage workers and to win decent wages and benefit contracts from powerful commercial-property owners. But organizers say that it is proving to be an even greater challenge to force L.A.’s political leaders to take responsibility for the growing subcontracted work force.

Today a protest march by janitors will mark the fourth anniversary of the Century City demonstration by striking janitors who were violently confronted by police, which subsequently led to a lawsuit against the city and a large settlement.

Policy-makers in cities and counties must make a commitment to review how public-service workers are treated, contracted or not. We must see to it that if governments choose to enter into agreements with the private sector in order to save taxpayer dollars, that we do so without creating the savings on the backs of those already earning low incomes. Savings must come from increased productivity, lowered overhead and proper application of technology--not at the expense of wages and benefits of janitors or other public-service workers.