Janitors challenge building owner to improve standards

Janitors who clean buildings throughout the Twin Cities marched through St. Paul skyways Monday to continue their campaign for a fair contract that would begin to close racial and economic disparities and address concerns about wage theft and retaliation against workers who take action for better wages
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More than 50 marchers were joined by many supporters, including two dozen friends from MAPE, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees.

Monday’s march was intended to highlight what can happen to workers without a contract. It had a specific goal of speaking with Jim Crockarell, president of Madison Equities, to ask him if he understands the negative impact that being fired has on so many people and their families, on whole communities after loss of income and benefits.

Madison Equities owns 17 downtown St. Paul buildings, including U.S. Bank Center, the Empire Building, and 375 Jackson. All of Crockarell’s  properties are now cleaned by the St Paul based, non-union cleaning contractor ROC Commercial Cleaning. ROC, says Service Employees International Union Local 26, has a history of complaints to the federal government of labor violations including wage theft and retaliation against workers.

Claudia Ibarra, member of SEIU Local 26, has been fired twice from jobs at buildings after Madison Equities purchased them and switched from a unionized cleaning contractor to a non-union company.

“I worked for nine years at the U.S.Bank building,” said Ibarra. “Jim Crockarell bought that and we lost 11 jobs. Then I worked the last two years at the First National Bank building – and we lost that building and we lost 13 jobs. Many people had to stay on unemployment. And wait.”

The union also wants to show that wage theft is a very real problem for many workers like those who work for ROC.

Local 26 representative Susan Kikuchi explained that, “ROC uses a system of sub-sub-contractors, and we’ve heard from a lot of workers that this results in them sometimes not getting paid their whole wages or not getting paid at all. Madison Equities will purchase a building and put in a non-union contractor who has a business model that leads to basic labor rights violations. This system makes it possible for each level of employment to shrug off responsibility to make sure workers’ rights aren’t respected.”

After winding their way through the skyways connecting several buildings in downtown St. Paul, the marchers rode the elevators to the Madison Equities office only to find the doors locked and no one willing to speak with them – except a man who told them to leave the property immediately or face arrest. Police officers arrived shortly thereafter.

The group left the area with loud chanting and without incident. They regrouped in the Town Square food court to rally, and to organize their next actions.

SEIU Local 26 is currently in negotiations for new contracts covering 6,000 Twin Cities janitors and security officers.