The March for Justice in Retail Cleaning will progress through south Minneapolis along Lake Street, from Uptown to Minnehaha Avenue. Along the way, marchers will demonstrate outside three stores: Lunds grocery at 1450 W. Lake St., SuperValu at Nicollet Avenue, and Target at 26th Avenue.
Marchers will gather at 11 a.m. at Grace Trinity Community Church, 1430 W. 28th St. The march will conclude with a rally at 2 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church, 2730 E. 31st St.
The march is being organized by “Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha” (CTUL), which means “Center of Workers United in Struggle.” CTUL is a worker-outreach initiative of the labor-faith coalition Workers Interfaith Network.
Based in Minneapolis, CTUL organizes support for low-wage, unorganized workers who are victims of wage theft, unsafe working conditions or other employer abuses. Retail cleaning has emerged as a cesspool of such abuses, according to CTUL.
Most retail chains – Target, SuperValu and Lunds & Byerly’s included – outsource their cleaning work to subcontractors, which compete fiercely against each other to offer the lowest bid. To turn a profit off such low bids, CTUL says, subcontractors must unfairly exploit their workers, many of whom are recent immigrants.
On Saturday, workers will march with a pledge they hope the retailers will sign, committing to a code of conduct guaranteeing fair wages and working conditions for the workers who clean their stores.
“We’re calling on Target, SuperValu and Lunds & Byerly’s to partner with workers to establish fair wages and working conditions in the cleaning of their stores,” CTUL organizer Veronica Mendez said.
The march is a follow-up to letters CTUL sent in April to retail chains, informing them of human-rights violations workers alleged were taking place in their stores. The letters requested meetings with the companies to discuss ways to end the alleged abuses.
Only one retailer, Cub Foods franchisee Jerry’s Foods, responded with a willingness to meet with CTUL and cleaning workers.
In August, CTUL staged a press conference with U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, who called on Target, SuperValu and Lunds & Byerly’s “to be good corporate citizens.”
“We appeal to them based on humanity,” Ellison said. “We assume that they share the same values that we share. But if they disappoint us … then we have to step forward.”
Cleaning workers gave impassioned testimonials at the press conference. Anallely Vivar, an employee of National Maintenance who cleans a Lunds store, said she has little time to spend with her infant child because she has to work a second job just to make ends meet.
“Ten years ago, cleaning workers doing our jobs were making $11 or $12 an hour with some benefits,” Vivar said. “Now they’ve cut this down, and we’re making minimum wage – sometimes less – and we have no benefits.
“Day after day the wages are going down and down and it’s not enough for us to be able to live.”
Working conditions, too, have deteriorated. Vivar said cleaning subcontractors have cut workers’ hours without cutting their workload – a formula proven to increase the number of accidents on the job.
“There were workers who were cleaning at Lunds and Byerly’s who had an accident on the job, and the company deducted money out of their paychecks to pay for this accident,” Vivar said. “And they did it without any authorization from the workers.”
Mario Colloly Torres, an employee of Carlson who cleans a Cub Foods store owned by SuperValu, acknowledged that many of the retail chains where CTUL members work have fostered a positive public image by supporting charitable causes over the years.
“These stores are giving millions of dollars to their communities every week. The image that they project to the community is admirable,” Torres said. “But we know that part of the reason they have money to donate to the community is because they’re not paying very much for their (cleaning contracts), and we’re the ones who pay for it.”
Torres is hopeful that, as the community becomes more aware of the cleaning workers’ struggle, Target, SuperValu and Lunds and Byerly’s will demand their subcontractors adhere to higher ethical standards. And that process starts with the march Saturday.
For more information
Visit the CTUL website
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The March for Justice in Retail Cleaning will progress through south Minneapolis along Lake Street, from Uptown to Minnehaha Avenue. Along the way, marchers will demonstrate outside three stores: Lunds grocery at 1450 W. Lake St., SuperValu at Nicollet Avenue, and Target at 26th Avenue.
Marchers will gather at 11 a.m. at Grace Trinity Community Church, 1430 W. 28th St. The march will conclude with a rally at 2 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church, 2730 E. 31st St.
The march is being organized by “Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha” (CTUL), which means “Center of Workers United in Struggle.” CTUL is a worker-outreach initiative of the labor-faith coalition Workers Interfaith Network.
Based in Minneapolis, CTUL organizes support for low-wage, unorganized workers who are victims of wage theft, unsafe working conditions or other employer abuses. Retail cleaning has emerged as a cesspool of such abuses, according to CTUL.
Most retail chains – Target, SuperValu and Lunds & Byerly’s included – outsource their cleaning work to subcontractors, which compete fiercely against each other to offer the lowest bid. To turn a profit off such low bids, CTUL says, subcontractors must unfairly exploit their workers, many of whom are recent immigrants.
On Saturday, workers will march with a pledge they hope the retailers will sign, committing to a code of conduct guaranteeing fair wages and working conditions for the workers who clean their stores.
“We’re calling on Target, SuperValu and Lunds & Byerly’s to partner with workers to establish fair wages and working conditions in the cleaning of their stores,” CTUL organizer Veronica Mendez said.
The march is a follow-up to letters CTUL sent in April to retail chains, informing them of human-rights violations workers alleged were taking place in their stores. The letters requested meetings with the companies to discuss ways to end the alleged abuses.
Only one retailer, Cub Foods franchisee Jerry’s Foods, responded with a willingness to meet with CTUL and cleaning workers.
In August, CTUL staged a press conference with U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, who called on Target, SuperValu and Lunds & Byerly’s “to be good corporate citizens.”
“We appeal to them based on humanity,” Ellison said. “We assume that they share the same values that we share. But if they disappoint us … then we have to step forward.”
Cleaning workers gave impassioned testimonials at the press conference. Anallely Vivar, an employee of National Maintenance who cleans a Lunds store, said she has little time to spend with her infant child because she has to work a second job just to make ends meet.
“Ten years ago, cleaning workers doing our jobs were making $11 or $12 an hour with some benefits,” Vivar said. “Now they’ve cut this down, and we’re making minimum wage – sometimes less – and we have no benefits.
“Day after day the wages are going down and down and it’s not enough for us to be able to live.”
Working conditions, too, have deteriorated. Vivar said cleaning subcontractors have cut workers’ hours without cutting their workload – a formula proven to increase the number of accidents on the job.
“There were workers who were cleaning at Lunds and Byerly’s who had an accident on the job, and the company deducted money out of their paychecks to pay for this accident,” Vivar said. “And they did it without any authorization from the workers.”
Mario Colloly Torres, an employee of Carlson who cleans a Cub Foods store owned by SuperValu, acknowledged that many of the retail chains where CTUL members work have fostered a positive public image by supporting charitable causes over the years.
“These stores are giving millions of dollars to their communities every week. The image that they project to the community is admirable,” Torres said. “But we know that part of the reason they have money to donate to the community is because they’re not paying very much for their (cleaning contracts), and we’re the ones who pay for it.”
Torres is hopeful that, as the community becomes more aware of the cleaning workers’ struggle, Target, SuperValu and Lunds and Byerly’s will demand their subcontractors adhere to higher ethical standards. And that process starts with the march Saturday.
For more information
Visit the CTUL website