Justice for Janitors!

Sam Adams announces ServiceMaster janitors’ victory; union janitors rally for an improved new contract

Approximately 200 local janitors, along with their families and community supporters, celebrated Justice for Janitors Day on June 13 in downtown Portland. As they marched and chanted through downtown streets, they drew public attention to their efforts to win basic improvements in their jobs in order to better provide for their families.

This year, Portland Mayor-elect Sam Adams, a long-time supporter of the janitors' campaign, announced a victory in ServiceMaster janitors’ three-year struggle to gain a union to improve their wages and benefits, and pledged to help 1,700 union janitors in their campaign for an improved contract.

“I was here two years ago supporting ServiceMaster janitors in their campaign for justice, and I am thrilled to announce that ServiceMaster janitors are about to sign their first contract," said Adams. "This is a Justice for Janitors Day with much to celebrate. But we also need to keep working to attain justice for all workers and their families."

In addition to the ServiceMaster contract, 1,700 union janitors who clean some of Oregon and SW Washington’s most prominent businesses and landmarks are fighting for healthy families, safe jobs and a secure future through a new master contract with employers.  The janitors’ current contract expires on June 30th.

“Janitors have made a lot of progress since the last Justice for Janitors Day,” said Alice Dale, President of SEIU Local 49. “Now we are working on a master contract that includes sick days, so workers can take a day when they are or their children are sick without worrying about how to pay the bills, fair wages that keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living, and affordable family health care so workers do not have to rely on the emergency room when their children are sick.”

“Food costs are going up, gas prices are sky-high, and I am struggling to get by” said Svetlana Zagreychuck, an ABM janitor and member of SEIU Local 49.  “That’s why my co-workers and I are fighting for fair wage increases — so we can build a secure future for our families without relying on taxpayer-funded public assistance.”