August 2005, Union Labor News
Putting faith into action, delegations from the Interfaith Coalition for
Worker Justice (ICWJ) are calling on prominent Madison businesses to play a
more active role in supporting good family-supporting jobs in the community.
The delegations visited American Family Insurance and the Fiore Companies
to share concerns about the labor practices of Clean Power, the largest
commercial cleaning contractor in the Madison area. Clean Power cleans
American Family’s office
complex on the far east side and Fiore properties downtown. Fiore Companies,
a real estate management, development and investment group, owns and manages
offices such as the Verex Plaza and Network 222 (which formerly housed
Alliant Energy at 222 W. Washington Av.), shopping malls and the InnTowner
Hotel.
Clean Power is standing in the way of union representation for more than 400 janitors, a largely African American and Latino workforce who earn low pay with few benefits and are often denied full-time employment. Clean Power was cited by the National Labor Relations Board for violating workers rights earlier this year and workers who were disciplined won back pay as part of a settlement.
Upholding Community Standards
The delegation visits are meant to make the building owners aware
of the working conditions of janitors who work in their buildings and ask
them to take responsibility for upholding a certain standard.
“They really have a lot of say in the matter. They should take an interest, and unless they do, the janitors can’t do anything to win improvements,” explains Patrick Hickey, director of the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice.
Hickey says building owners are often looking for the lowest bidder, “someone who has bid so low that they can’t afford to pay their workers a good wage and provide benefits. Unfortunately, the way our economy works, there’s always a pool of desperate people who will work for next to nothing – and do it eighty hours a week, while living in horrible conditions just to survive.”
The Predicament
The janitors are in a tough spot, says Hickey. If they unionize and make
real gains, their company is likely to lose its low-bidder position and then
its cleaning contract would probably go to some other low-wage, nonunion
company.
“So there needs to be a coming together of all parties. We at the ICWJ would like Fiore and American Family to take the high road, and enforce a policy that their contractors provide living wage jobs,” said Hickey. “Companies can still compete by designing their systems and practices well, but they shouldn’t have to compete by squeezing their workers for the least amount of pay.”
The Interfaith Coalition is asking American Family and Fiore Companies to also hold Clean Power responsible for following the law and allowing workers to form a union – if that’s what they want to do – without any sort of interference or intimidation, Hickey says.
“This company’s been on record as violating people’s rights. For the most part, the building owners say they don’t have any responsibility or control over working conditions. We just don’t buy that. We want them to be accountable to the community.”
The Bigger Picture
While Clean Power is the biggest in Madison, it’s just one company. “What we
really need to do is change the entire industry and make these jobs people
can actually live on. These aren’t jobs that are ever going to go away,”
Hickey says. “They aren’t jobs that high school students do; these are jobs
that people are trying to live on and they can’t even get on full-time
employment.”
In the Chicago suburbs, the wages for unionized janitors have increased by almost $3 an hour in just four years, according to SEIU Local 1 which represents them. For the first time they’re getting a guaranteed raise and family health insurance, something they didn't have five years ago. After organizing with SEIU Local 1, Milwaukee janitors won a 20 percent pay increase, paid holidays, sick days and vacations – and full, employer-paid health insurance. In August, they’ll earn $9.45 an hour compared to the $7.50 paid by Clean Power.
“These people are able to own homes and send their kids to college,” said Hickey. “That’s what we want for our community too.”
While Hickey says the ICWJ is disappointed that American Family and Fiore Companies have not yet said they’re willing to take a stand, the dialogue will continue. Delegations are also planning to reach out to other Clean Power customers to help them see their role and responsibility to the community.
“We just see these poverty level jobs in our community as a form of pollution that needs to be cleaned up.”