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Starting at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, janitors began a series of rolling strikes at locations around the Twin Cities Wednesday. The walkouts are over unfair labor practices by employers who are stalling in negotiations, the workers said.
Locations being struck by the 4,000 janitors represented by Service Employees International Union Local 26 include United Health Group, Medtronic, U.S. Bank Plaza, U.S. Bank Corporate, Wells Fargo Towers in both Minneapolis and St. Paul, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Oracle, AT&T, Ameriprise, IDS, Normandale Office Complex, Baker, Securian, and 3M headquarters, among others.
The union said the strike would continue throughout the day and culminate in a rally at U.S. Bank Plaza, 200 S. 6th St., Minneapolis, at 7 p.m.
The janitors and cleaning contractors have been negotiating since October. There have been 11 negotiation sessions, with the next scheduled for Monday, Feb. 22. The previous three-year contract expired on Dec. 31.
Main issues janitors are bargaining for are:
- Fair wages, including a $15 floor for all workers
- Policies that address a growing workload crisis; many janitors clean the equivalent of over 20 homes per night
- Benefits, such as earned sick time, that allow for healthy families
“I work incredibly hard, yet I only make $12.15 per hour, and other janitors make as little as $11 per hour,” said Juana Arriaga, who cleans the Prime Therapeutics headquarters in Eagan.
“At a time when some are getting richer and richer, those of us who are contracted to clean the buildings of some of the wealthiest corporations in the state shouldn’t have to struggle to get by. We have found out that winning $15 for all janitors would lead to tens of millions of dollars each year being pumped into communities across the Twin Cities.”
Ninety percent of the union janitors are people of color, who have been left behind in the current economy, she said.