The workers then toured downtown skyways to call on building owners like Target, Wells Fargo, and United Properties to give back to the community by supporting full-time jobs and better health care for more than 4,200 janitors who clean downtown office buildings.

The janitors, who are members of SEIU Local 26, also highlighted that these building owners benefited from the 2001 property tax reform that reduced their tax rates by 41 percent, shifting the property tax burden largely from commercial building owners to Minnesota homeowners.

“Downtown Minneapolis office building owners have saved quite a bit of money over the last few years when property taxes were shifted to homeowners,” said Javier Morillo, president of SEIU Local 26. “We are calling on these owners to share some of their good fortune by supporting full-time jobs with better health care for the people who work hard everyday to clean their buildings.”

The janitors are currently engaged in stalled contract negotiations with several companies that provide cleaning services for these buildings. The employers proposed moving from full- to part-time hours for many janitors and have stalled negotiations over proposals to improve health care benefits.

Only one-quarter of the janitors have health insurance through their employer, largely because the cost is too high. Some plans could have members paying as much as $1,100 per month for family coverage.

The employers have proposed cutting many full-time jobs and replacing them with part-time positions. Full-time janitors earn an average of $11.75 per hour and have access to health care benefits, while part-time janitors earn an average of $9.75, two dollars less per hour, and are not eligible for benefits.

“Like everyone else, we work hard everyday to do our jobs and raise our families” said Walter Castellanos, a janitor who cleans a building managed by United Properties. “And today we are out here to make sure that these building owners and the public knows that full-time jobs and better health care are important to our families and our communities.”

To highlight the role that building owners can play in improving conditions for janitors, Morillo noted that Target makes enough profit in 25 minutes to provide full family health care for a year for all of the janitors who clean its headquarters.

“Janitors across the country, most recently in Houston, are moving forward – gaining full-time hours, better pay, and improved health care benefits,” Morillo said. “The question is, will these building owners join us in moving forward? Or will they forsake the community for their bottom line?”