Talks to Begin on Master Contract for 8,000 Janitors

Negotiations begin today on a master contract covering about 8,000 janitors who clean office buildings in Los Angeles, Long Beach and the San Fernando Valley, and who led a quixotic union campaign in the early ‘90s that drew national attention and changed the dynamics of immigrant organizing.

Leading up to the talks, the union involved has been reminding commercial building owners that union pension funds invest heavily in real estate development, and that unions in Los Angeles have become significant political players.

“This is a new way of doing business,” said Mike Garcia, president of the Service Employees International Union, Local 1877, which represents the janitors. “We want these building owners to look at their work force in a more positive light, in a way that attaches more value to them.”

The current contract, which was won after a boisterous, high-profile campaign by the largely immigrant work force, expires in April. Janitors covered by the contract now earn an average wage of $6.80 per hour. Full family health benefits were added this year.

“The challenge for us now is to come up with a wage that lifts our members out of poverty,” Garcia said. More than 1,000 janitors and supporters will mark the beginning of the talks at noon today with a march from SEIU offices on West 7th Street to Pershing Square.

“Our campaign is going to highlight the huge disparity between rich and poor in this city,” Garcia said. “And we’re going to show that, at least in our case, the powers that be can do something about it, especially in today’s economy. The money is there.”