Tina Campbell needed two surgeries and two months off from work last year after being diagnosed with a pre-cancerous condition.
A part-time janitor for Clean Power, a large cleaning contractor in Wisconsin, Campbell receives no health insurance, vacation or sick leave.
Motivated to organize for benefits and better pay, Campbell, a single mother who works in Madison, said she has been retaliated against by Clean Power management.
"I've been harassed and disciplined because I am for the union," she said, addressing a rally Friday on the steps of the State Capitol held to support local janitors' right to organize. "Clean Power is putting profits before people."
Jeffrey Packee, president of Clean Power, said he didn't know specifically about Campbell's charges and hasn't been contacted by her, even though his office number doubles as the employee hotline.
Packee said it was unlikely supervisors would make time to track an employee.
"I find it very hard to believe, knowing how busy our management team is, that they would have time to follow anyone around," he said.
Packee said Clean Power is a "part-time supplemental income employer" and provides vacation and health insurance benefits only to its full-time workers, a small fraction of its employees.
"Everyone who comes to us understands that this work is supplementing another source of income they have," Packee said.
"The vast majority of employees do not come to us for health insurance benefits because they've got those benefits on their daytime jobs."
Packee said the company, which has about 375 part-time employees in Madison, has not taken a stance on unionization efforts and has gotten involved only by providing "accurate and correct" information to employees.
"We believe the choice of union membership rests on individual employees," he said.
Packee said Clean Power employees make an average salary of $8 an hour.
About 100 individuals braved a steady rain to attend the noon "Justice for Janitors" rally, organized by the Service Employees International Union Local 1 and the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin Inc., which advocates for low-wage workers.
Organizers said the demonstration was held on International Human Rights Day to highlight the efforts by Madison janitors to unionize.
Arnoldo Fabela, lead organizer for SEIU Local 1, said Clean Power is the largest cleaning contractor in Madison, supplying 44 percent to 50 percent of the local business.
He said Campbell has been "interrogated" by management for her unionizing efforts and has been followed after leaving work. Campbell works in the Washington Square office building on East Washington Avenue.
"The pressure on her is mounting," Fabela said in an interview.
Fabela said organizing efforts, despite such opposition, are going strong.
"There have been house visits and workers calling other workers," he said.
"There's been a lot of success. People are moving forward."
Sarah Shatz, director of the Interfaith Coalition, said her group fully supports the unionization efforts.
"We are mobilizing people of faith and community members to support the campaign," she said in an interview.
Ald. Austin King told the crowd he would soon introduce a resolution to the City Council, co-sponsored by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Council President Brenda Konkel, expressing support for the unionization effort.