Janitors to go on strike at Cisco, other Valley offices

Members of the Silicon Valley janitors union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1877,

have voted to go on strike. The union provides janitorial services to Silicon Valleys’ high-tech and bio-tech corporate campuses including Cisco, Apple, HP, Intel, Oracle, Applied Materials, Yahoo, Google and others. A press release from the union says that the strike would be the first major one in California since 2000, when Los Angeles janitors staged a three-week strike. That strike became a focal point of discussion about immigrant workers across the nation.

The janitors’ complaints include the low wages compared to the high cost of living, the unavailability of healthcare and what the union characterizes as irresponsible behavior by cleaning contractors. Wages for janitors in the San Jose area average $11.04 a hour, compared to New York at $20.25 and Chicago at $14.20. Even in San Francisco, janitors earn $17.05 an hour, the union says. The Economic Policy Institute says that for a family of four, an income of $54,000 annually is the bare necessity in the area. A janitor would need to work about 100 hours a week to support a family on the current wages. In addition, janitors in this area must work two and half years before they become eligible for family health insurance — compared to six months in Southern California. The press release states:

“Silicon Valley’s wealthy corporations could do the right thing, like other major corporate leaders in Southern California have done, but are so far choosing to leave hardworking families struggling to make ends meet,” said Mike Garcia, president of the janitors’ union SEIU Local 1877.

The union also announced that it is preparing to file a complaint with the federal labor board against cleaning contractors that allegedly mistreat employees. The union says these contractors engage in behavior including intimidation, interrogation and retaliation against workers.

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