FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Lynda Tran
202-907-1172
***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR TODAY, WED. OCT. 11***
With more than 5,300 janitors set to walk off the job at any time…
Janitors to Ask Mayor White for Use of Public Space for Strike Activities
Houston janitors paid substantially less than workers in other major cities
HOUSTON -– On behalf of more than 5,000 low-wage workers, a group of janitors are requesting permission from Mayor Bill White at 4:30PM today for the use of public space for possible strike activities if and when the janitors decide to walk off the job. The janitors, who are in the final stages of contract negotiations, will deliver a letter requesting the use of Tranquility Park as a staging area in the event that workers decide to call a strike. The area could potentially be used as a meeting place for striking workers and a location where janitors and their families could get food and water and receive information about the day’s activities.
Houston janitors make substantially less than janitors in other major cities, even though they work for the same large, national cleaning companies and clean buildings owned by many of the same large, national real estate companies—including the Houston-based Hines Interests, Transwestern, and PM Realty as well as KBS Realty Advisors. The janitors, who work part-time for an average wage of $5.30 an hour—$106 a week—and receive no health or other benefits, have been publicly questioning why Houston workers are being treated worse than workers in other cities.
With 8 in 10 new jobs in Houston in the last decade in the low-wage, no benefits service sector—including jobs in janitorial services—the janitors’ contract could play a major role in setting standards for good jobs with health care for the city’s families and help determine the future in store for working families in Houston.
More than 5,000 janitors who clean the majority of Houston’s office space are entering the final stages of contract talks where they are seeking a raise to $8.50/hour, more hours, and health insurance. Three weeks ago, janitors authorized their bargaining committee to call a strike if necessary and could walk off the job any day. The next bargaining session is scheduled for Monday, October 16.
WHAT: Janitors Deliver Letter to Offices of Mayor Bill White
WHEN: 4:30PM, TODAY, Wednesday October 11, 2006
WHERE: City Hall, steps on Bagby Street side
WHO: Dozens of Houston janitors, supporters