Vol.64/No.19 May 15, 2000
Chicago janitors win contract
BY LISA POTASH
CHICAGO —Chanting "Yes we can!" in Spanish and Polish, and serenaded by a bugle and drums, several hundred janitors rallied here April 28 at their union hall, celebrating their winning a contract after 10 days on strike. The janitors, who work in Chicago's suburbs and are members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1, won $1.35 in wage increases over three years, with family medical insurance coverage in the third year.
The 4,500 workers had been making $6.65 an hour, with no medical benefits. One janitor told the Militant he made only $8.50 after working 15 years for the same cleaning firm.
This, the suburban janitors' first strike, came on the heels of a five-hour strike April 17 by janitors working under a separate contract in Chicago's downtown office buildings, which resulted in a $1.10 wage increase over three years. Both strikes, particularly that of the lower-paid suburban janitors, won widespread working-class support.
Earlier that day, 51 suburban janitors on strike blocked traffic at a major intersection in the Oakbrook Terrace suburb. On April 26, hundreds picketed a downtown Chicago building that contracts with a cleaning firm that also does work in the suburbs. The building's janitors respected their picket line.
Lisa Potash is a sewing machine operator and a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees in Chicago. Leah Finger, a member of the United Steelworkers of America, contributed to this article.