Justice For Janitors - Los Angeles Campaign

Los Angeles Campaign

During the 1980s, janitors working for large real estate owners had become victims of competition and lowered wages. The large real estate companies sent out cleaning services to the building service contractors. These contractors were in high competition with each other and therefore cut wages for their cleaning services. This placed janitors in a situation that they had no power to change: If they attempted to ask the service contractors for higher wages, the contractors would pass the responsibility to the real estate owners. If the janitors inquired the owners about increasing their wages, the owners would say that it was the responsibility of the contractors.

In 1983, an average janitor working in LA had a salary of over $7.00/hour and full health insurance for the janitor and his/her family. By 1986, the janitorial wages had been cut to a mere $4.50/hour, and health care coverage was no longer an option. By the late 1980s, janitors began to fight against these large owners and contractors. Janitors that were members of the SEIU joined together in the Justice for Janitors campaign using militant and direct action tactics. They wanted to hold both the owners and the contractors accountable.

The Justice for Janitors campaign came from Denver to LA in 1988. They worked in downtown to represent the union base and organize the non-union companies. The Justice for Janitors organizers focused on “double-breasted” companies, which were “firms with both union and nonunion operations under different names.” The first campaign was directed toward Century Cleaning.

The official strike of Janitors for Justice in Los Angeles began on April 3, 1990. The janitors marched and held demonstrations during the daytime for the 3 weeks. To help their cause, many religious leaders, community leaders, and politicians joined the action of the janitors and supported their protests. The archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony, held a special mass for the janitors. Also, mayor Richard Riordan joined the campaign by voicing his support for the janitors and their union. The janitors in Los Angeles stayed on strike until April 22. By this time, they had reached a contract that guaranteed at least a 22% raise over the next three years.

The Los Angeles strike was significant to the future of Justice for Janitors as it spurred a nationwide campaign involving over 100,000 SEIU janitors in 2000. The campaign sought to raise wages for all janitors as well as improve overall working conditions. SEIU's Los Angeles Justice for Janitors campaign was portrayed in the motion picture Bread and Roses.