Twin Cities janitors walk out
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By KAREN and JOHN SCHRAUFNAGEL MINNEAPOLIS—After months of bargaining, and in response to stalling and delays from employers, jani tors with SEIU Local 26 walked off the job on an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike on Feb. 17.
The strike hit some of the largest and most promi nent buildings throughout the metro over the course of the day. It was the first strike by sub-contracted union janitors in the Twin Cities in decades. The jani tors held a mass rally at U.S. Bank Plaza in downtown Minneapolis, and picketed at other sites.
They were joined by many unorganized retail clean ers who had just recovered over $400,000 in stolen wages through a class-action lawsuit.
The janitors’ current contract expired on Dec. 31. On Jan. 23, janitors with SEIU Local 26, 90% of whom are people of color, voted to authorize their bargain “We want $15 for all workers, a solution to our work load crisis that sees many janitors clean the equiva lent of over 20 homes every single night, and policies that allow us to have healthy families.
“We are fighting for our own families, but we also want our fight to show others that you don’t have to accept the status quo.
“Our state and economy are not working for ev eryone, and the people who benefit from the eco nomic and racial disparities they created clear ly won’t give up without a fight. With employ ers dismissing all of our proposals, we see no choice but to go on strike to win what is right.” n