“What is happening at Hennepin county?” Seven Senior Janitors Let Go With No Notice

Mercedes Ponce is in tears outside the Hennepin County Government where she worked as a subcontractor for 12 years doing janitorial work before getting the news last week that she’d be getting let go with no prior notice. Ponce is one of seven janitors with a combined 180 years of experience who received a letter informing her she doesn’t work there anymore at the end of August. The janitors, all senior employees who have devoted their careers to cleaning the Hennepin County Government Plaza, are alleging age discrimination.

The workers are members of SEIU Local 26, which represents 8,000 building management and janitorial workers across the Twin Cities. The morning of September 8, they held a press conference outside the building where they worked, then marched together into the facility, where they delivered a letter to the office of Building Management demanding the workers be reinstated. Among those dismissed are janitors who began cleaning the building in 1991, 1998, and 1999. 

Ponce said through an interpreter at the press conference, “I’ve always been proud of my work. Now, I’m stressed trying to figure out how I’m going to pay my rent, groceries, and my other bills.” 

She concluded her remarks with a demand: ”We are here to return back to work.” 

According to the union, the long-term workers had strong track records, and had received positive feedback from the people who use the building. They weren’t given prior notice, the workers say, and weren’t given a reason why they were being let go.

The janitorial workers were employed by a contractor, Kleen-Tech. They used to work for the contractor, ABM, but Kleen-Tech recently won a contract from the county to clean the Hennepin County Government Plaza. The workers’ union contract is supposed to guarantee that those currently working at the building have the right of first refusal for any new contractor, but seven of them say they were notified last week that they wouldn’t have a job at Kleen-Tech. 

It’s not exactly clear who at Kleen-Tech or the county made this decision, the union says, and workers are asking for clarity. 

Neither Hennepin County nor Kleen-Tech responded immediately to a request to confirm this version of events, or explain why the workers had been let go. 

With support from SEIU Local 26, the workers are filing a discrimination charge with the Minnesota Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. They are also charging that the contract was violated.

Katra Arale is another one of the seven janitors who was let go. Arale worked cleaning the building since April 1999. She alleges that the county is trying to remove all senior employees.

Many of the laid-off janitors are also immigrants. Samantha Diaz, the political director of SEIU Local 26, said, “As the federal government is attacking immigrant workers, Hennepin county should be a safe guard. The county said they would protect immigrant workers, so the county should act like it.” 

Diaz shared that this comes at the same time as another set of workers alleges that three contractors for Hennepin and Ramsey counties stole their wages, with up to $700,000 allegedly owed to workers. “What is happening at Hennepin county? Why are these failures piling up? This is tax payer money. We should expect the highest of standards,” Diaz states. 

Now, the workers are waiting to hear back from Hennepin County.

Isabela is the Senior Associate Editor for Workday Magazine.