Houston janitors and supporters, who blocked a downtown intersection in an act of peaceful civil disobedience, were held on $888,888 bond each yesterday, according to the SEIU. In contrast, bail for a Harris County man accused of killing another man in a bar fight was set at $30,000. The janitors are striking for a living wage and affordable health insurance:
More than 1,700 SEIU janitors in Houston have been on strike since October 23 over civil rights abuses and a failure to bargain in good faith by their employers, the five national cleaning companies ABM, OneSource, GCA, Sanitors, and Pritchard.
With five of the most influential players in Houston's commercial real estate industry refusing to intervene in the dispute, the workers' strike against five national cleaning firms is increasing in scope and intensity. In the highly competitive market of contract cleaning, it the building landlords that hire the cleaning firms that negotiate and set rates for janitors' wages and benefits. These five major landlords, Hines, Transwestern, Crescent, Brookfield Properties, and the oil giant Chevron, have the power to settle the strike by directing the cleaning contractors they hire to provide higher wages and health insurance all workers need to support their families.
In every city, the janitors work for many of the same national cleaning firms in buildings owned by the same national commercial landlords. But, while janitors in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and other cities make more than $10 an hour, have health insurance and full-time work, Houston workers are paid an average of $20 a day, with no health insurance for part-time work. - SEIU
The janitors are seeking a raise from $5.30 an hour to $8.50 and increased hours. Most are unable to afford health insurance.
Family health care premiums offered by janitorial contractors range from $300 to $1,000 a month in employee contributions. "That's unaffordable for people making under $12 an hour," said Debbie Prokopf, a union official. - Pioneer Press
Photos of the strikers being menaced by mounted police are available here: http://www.houstonjanitors.org/
~Stef
Definately SEIU janitors ?
Posted by: Stephen | April 27, 2007 at 09:46 AM