Striking Janitors and Contractors Meet for First Round of Talks

Janitors sat down to bargain with contractors Thursday for the first time since their countywide strike began 10 days earlier. But both sides remained far apart going into the afternoon meeting, particularly on the question of raises for janitors in outlying areas.

The talks were arranged by Rob Maguire, a prominent building owner who, along with Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, Mayor Richard Riordan and county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, has been working to resolve the labor dispute.

Meanwhile, the strike spread to Los Angeles International Airport, where about 700 protesters demonstrated in the morning. And Service Employees International Union, Local 1877, received another $500,000 check from the anonymous donor who gave an equal amount two days earlier.

The union, which represents 8,500 janitors, originally sought a $3-per-hour raise spread evenly over three years. Janitors earn $6.80 to $7.90 per hour, with full family health benefits.

Contractors originally offered three-year raises ranging from 80 cents to $1.30 per hour, with higher boosts for janitors in highly unionized downtown and Century City. Both sides said they were trying to find “creative” ways to break the impasse.

Buildings hit by the strike are being cleaned by supervisors and replacement crews, and the Building Owners and Management Assn. said “primary” needs such as vacuuming and waste dumping were being met.

Union officials said they were prepared for a long strike. This week, strikers will receive their first $100 weekly strike pay. More than 5,000 bags of groceries have been delivered by the Federation of Labor.

Meanwhile, San Diego janitors continued their strike, which began Monday.

In Sacramento, the state Senate stepped into the dispute and approved a resolution (SR 26) by Sen. Hilda Solis (D-La Puente), chairwoman of the Industrial Relations Committee, calling on janitorial contractors and building owners to “improve the economic conditions of hard-working janitors under their economic control.”

Thursday night, about 175 strikers held a spirited downtown rally. There was a brief period of shoving between protesters and police, but the rally ended peacefully and there were no arrests.