Sens. Kennedy, Feinstein Back Striking Janitors

Janitors and contractors met into the evening Tuesday in an attempt to end the countywide strike, now in its third week, as two prominent U.S. senators joined the list of legislators publicly supporting the janitors.

Tuesday’s negotiations broke off in the afternoon, when contractors offered no new wage concessions and janitors walked out. But building owner Rob Maguire intervened, calling the janitors back. The union is seeking to increase pressure on other significant building owners who have not yet gotten involved.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) cheered on several hundred janitors at an afternoon rally in downtown Los Angeles, telling them, “Support for your cause is growing, as more and more people across America hear about your courage to take this stand.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) told the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce it was time to settle. “It is difficult to understand why the strike is prolonged,” she said, given the robust economy.

“There are parts of this city and parts of this state that . . . increasingly resemble underdeveloped countries,” she said. “We have to face it. And there is no better time to face it than now.”

But Dick Davis, chief negotiator for the contractors, said cleaning firms are worried that if wages go too high, some building owners will switch to cheaper nonunion companies, which generally pay the minimum wage of $5.75 per hour. “When you keep adding things on, there’s a point of resistance,” he said. “My guys are very nervous about it.”

Organizers with the Service Employees International Union took one striking worker to Good Samaritan Hospital on Tuesday evening for injuries suffered when she allegedly was struck by a police baton while picketing a contractor’s office.

On Tuesday evening, Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew and Democratic National Convention Chief Executive Lydia Camarillo joined janitors at a downtown rally “to show support for working families.”

Janitors originally sought a $1 per hour raise each year for the next three years. On April 1, members overwhelmingly rejected an offer by contractors that would have raised wages by 80 cents to $1.30 over the three years.

Janitors now earn $6.80 to $7.80 with full health benefits, with those in the highly unionized downtown and Century City areas earning the higher rate.

During a break in negotiations Tuesday, union President Mike Garcia said the diverse and fragmented nature of the Los Angeles real estate market made for slow progress.

The union is negotiating with a coalition of 18 janitorial cleaning firms, including several large national companies. Some of the smaller companies appeared more resistant to raising wages, Garcia said.

The contractors have said they take their cues from owners of the buildings they clean, which range from multibillion-dollar real estate trusts to small individual owners.

Building owners initially said they had no role in the dispute, because they simply purchased the cleaning services. But during the last two weeks, the union has asked religious and political leaders to pressured owners to get involved.

One unusual result had county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Cardinal Roger M. Mahony on a conference call with Richard Zimon, chief executive of Arden Realty, as he vacationed in London last week. The next day, Arden, which owns and manages about 10 million square feet of office space in the county, issued a statement saying: “We empathize with the janitors and support their desire to earn a fair wage. . . . We will do everything in our power to support that effort and have shared this view with our vendors.”

Times staff writer Greg Krikorian contributed to this story.