Photo By Cameron Knight

Hoping to organize Cincinnati janitors are (L-R) William Souh, Ramone Serrano, Maria Hernandez, Carlos Sanchez, Jose Velez, Nellie Black and David McDonald.

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 3, which serves Ohio, Indianapolis, Detroit and western Pennsylvania, will sponsor events to inform contractors and businesses of their plans to unionize the work force.

The SEIU launched the Justice for Janitors campaign in 1985 to improve and standardize wages and benefits across the country. Nearly 1,300 janitors clean commercial office buildings in Greater Cincinnati, with a work force predominantly comprised by African Americans and Latinos earning low wages without affordable health benefits, according to Matt Ryan, lead organizer for Local 3. Ryan says the union hopes to bring union benefits to local workers as it did in nearby cities.

"Janitors working in Pittsburgh are now earning $12.20 per hour with health care benefits and pensions," he says. "In Cincinnati, they're earning only $6 to $7 per hour and benefits are usually not affordable. There's a huge contrast between workers as unionized janitors."

'Only after I complain'
The union not only wants to improve pay and benefits, but also wants to bring recognition to the work force as a whole. Because janitors primarily perform their services in the evening, office workers rarely meet them, in essence making janitors an invisible work force.

"People they work with don't know the struggles they go through," Ryan says. "We want people to get to know the people cleaning their offices at night -- put a face with a coworker."

As part of an informational campaign, janitors took to the streets during lunchtime last week passing out leaflets at busy downtown intersections. The printed fliers detailed challenges faced on a daily basis by the group and the message that they choose not to be invisible anymore.

David McDonald, a janitor for Professional Maintenance at the Scripps building, says he handed fliers to a diverse group, but thinks fellow African Americans best related to his concerns.

"The black culture is kind of timid and intimidated by a lot of practices by businesses," he says. "They were able to understand how I feel and relate. Other cultures I'm not so sure of."

While McDonald admits to having trouble breaking down language barriers between his Spanish-speaking coworkers, he believes they must breach the gap in order to form a stronger work force.

"If we can understand each other and how each other feels, we can come together to defeat any issue," he says. "We're just one family and that's how I want it, no matter what color you are. We just want to get what we deserve."

For McDonald, two issues lay on the forefront: healthcare for dependents and an overall sense of respect.

"We've been disrespected for too long," he says. "We do hard work and they look at us like we're nothing."

Pedro Rodriguez, who works for Jancoa at Deerfield Crossing, says people often look down on his job and prey upon the people who do it.

"I hope all janitors -- black, white or Latino -- work together for justice," he says. "We all get taken advantage of. There are many times when I am not paid for all the hours I've worked. I only get paid the full amount until after I complain and argue. I shouldn't have to do that. Everyone wants respect." But even with shared passion for change, Rodriguez says uniting diverse groups won't be easy.

"It is difficult to organize with other janitors when we don't all speak the same language or come from the same culture," he says. "What unites Latino, black and white janitors is our families. We are all working to provide for our families and be the best fathers or mothers we can be."

It worked in San Francisco
Within the next month Local 3 will stage press conferences and rallies, Ryan says. The union also will approach employers and businesses to try to find an equitable solution for change.

"Because this is a contracted industry with a bidding system, usually the lowest bid wins," he says. "It drives down wages and makes it impossible for employees to make enough to live on. Our intention is not to put workers or companies at risk. We don't want to put a contractor at a competitive disadvantage, but workers should be able to demand enough wage to make a living."

In San Francisco last year janitors threatened to strike over increased costs in health care. Mayor Willie Brown barely avoided the strike deadline through negotiations that would have sidelined more than 3,000 janitors. Ryan says strikes are effective methods of negotiations, but none are planned for the immediate future.

"We're just starting out in the area," he says. "It's way too early to think about that."

While the union promises improvement for area janitors, Clean and Shine Janitorial Services owner Charles Crocheron sees their plan backfiring. He speculates the increase will cause employers to hire only part-time workers to avoid health care costs and businesses will look outside the state for companies that can provide the low-cost service.

Finding affordable health care coverage is almost impossible for companies fewer than 20 employees, because the costs are divided among the work force, Crocheron says.

"It's tricky to make demands because there are too many variables all the way around," he says. "It's not like going into P&G where they're turning a profit and there are thousands of workers to share the cost."

When he was a manager for a large janitorial firm, Crocheron thought unions weren't such a bad idea. Now, as a small business owner, he says he has a different perspective. He says the service industry isn't driven by market pricing and needs to remain competitive in order to survive.

"It's not like when you raise gas to $2 per gallon," he says. "People will continue to buy it because they need it. I can't raise my prices to pass along an increase because a business will just bid it out. There's always someone out there willing to do it for less." ©