More than 100 janitors and allies marched through downtown Coral Gables on Wednesday, Oct. 29, calling for the right to organize and an end to what they see as unfair wages. The march featured an 80-person marching band dressed in purple, complete with drumming, chanting and calling for justice for janitors.
“Justice for Janitors! Yes it can be done,” protesters chanted in Spanish at the rally. “When we fight, we win!”
32BJ SEIU, a union representing property service workers across the U.S., including University of Miami janitors, had success earlier this year when it reached a tentative contract agreement with ABM, the University of Miami’s cleaning contract, after protesting at the University of Miami.
Now, the union is organizing against another major cleaning contractor in South Florida: AK Building Services. Janitors from the University of Miami were seen wearing purple shirts and leaving campus on Wednesday around 4:10 p.m., presumably to attend the march.
The demonstration is part of the nationwide Justice for Janitors movement, led by SEIU, which represents tens of thousands of mostly immigrant office and university cleaners across Florida and the country.
“While union janitors represented by 32BJ SEIU earn higher wages, benefits, and job protections, janitors employed by AK Building Services lack those same contractual guarantees,” 32BJ said in a statement to The Hurricane. “Some AK janitors have reported having to clean without gloves or cleaning products, sometimes using only water. One worker said she had to clean a toilet with blood without gloves.”
In addition to those contract guarantees, the union is looking to guarantee AK employees’ right to organize. Workers have also reported surveillance and intimidation tactics.
According to a statement from 32BJ, police were called on 32BJ janitors at a Coral Gables building for speaking with AK workers about joining a union.
“The vacuum cleaner they gave me had a frayed electrical cord, and when I used it, I got an electric shock,” Yenni Martinez, an AK Building Services janitor, said in a statement to The Hurricane. “Sometimes we didn’t have enough gloves or cleaning supplies and had to clean using only water. I take pride in keeping my area clean, but it’s hard to do a good job when you don’t have the materials. You can’t take out grease with just water.”
In a statement to The Hurricane, AK denied 32BJ’s accusations, stating that their employees have not expressed an interest in unionizing and have received “competitive wages, along with open, direct communication with both management and ownership.”
“…SEIU Local 32BJ has engaged in false, disparaging, and disruptive actions in an effort to pressure AK Building Services into unionizing, despite a clear and consistent lack of employee support for such efforts,” Shari Cedar, the CEO and owner of AK, said in AK’s official statement to The Hurricane. “…They have every right to file for a secret-ballot election with the National Labor Relations Board. Instead, they have chosen to relentlessly harass our employees and customers without cause.”
The statement continued to emphasize that AK Building Services values its employees and prides itself on a culture of respect, and that it will not be “intimidated or distracted” by the continued marches.
The march concluded at The Plaza, a $700 million retail and residential complex owned by Agave Holdings. There, janitors employed by Allan Industries, a company whose workers remain non-union in Coral Gables, lack the wages, benefits, and job protections their coworkers have won elsewhere.
“Downtown Coral Gables is booming, with high-end shops, restaurants, and office buildings,” Andy Cabrera, District Leader for 32BJ SEIU, said. “Yet the workers who keep these spaces sparkling clean and ensure profits for real estate investors are treated as disposable. All janitors deserve fair wages, good benefits, and the right to organize without fear.”