Socialist Action /November 2002
Partial Victory for Boston Janitors
By JOE AUCIELLO
BOSTON-Better pay. Health insurance. Respect. Nearly 2000 janitors in
Boston, represented by the Service Employees International Union, organized,
marched, and won a nearly four-week-old strike against the largest cleaning
service companies in the region. The five-year contract offered by the Maintenance
Contractors of New England extends benefits that have never been granted
here before to part-time workers.
The 10,700 janitors in SEIU Local 254 are predominantly Latino immigrants.
Approximately 8000 janitors hold only part-time jobs, (less than 29 hours
per week), sometimes stitching together two or three part-time jobs to earn
a living. These workers, about three-fourths of the union, received no health
care benefits, no sick days, and a salary of only $9.95 an hour in one of
the most expensive cities in the country.
Health care has been a central issue in the strike. As the SEIU pointed
out, "Without health insurance, the cost of health care is prohibitively
expensive. A visit to a doctor in the Boston area costs $79, two days' pay
for a janitor. A prescription for antibiotics alone costs an entire day's
wage." Even full-time workers find it difficult or impossible to purchase
health care coverage for family members.
A Boston Globe report (Oct. 17, 2002) highlighted the story of
Manuel Perez, who has a full-time job but cannot afford the $20 weekly premium
that would be charged for family coverage. As a result, "his wife,
Michelle Perez, hasn't seen a doctor or gynecologist in nearly two years."
The newly won agreement will give fully funded health insurance to 1000
Boston janitors who work in the largest downtown offices. Most janitors
will receive a pay raise of $3 per hour, or $12.95 for most workers. Two
paid sick days a year were also added to the accord.
Union members are expected to ratify the agreement in the near future.
SEIU leader Rocio Saenz said, "This is a tremendous victory. We have
for the first time part-time janitors with health care, which means if janitors
get sick, they can go to the doctor and they can pay for their medicine"
(Boston Globe, Oct. 24, 2002).
The Boston Globe also quoted union member Mynea Cea, a 35-year-old
Salvadoran and a part-time worker. She said the janitors won "dignity
and respect. ... We're very happy. We can return to our jobs with our heads
held high."
Nonetheless, the union's victory was partial and incomplete. The janitors
will not all receive an equal share of the gains. Wage hikes will be greatest
for workers in the Boston area while workers in outlying cities and suburbs
will earn about one-third less than their brothers and sisters in Boston.
Wage raises are less than what the SEIU won for their members in Los Angeles
two years ago.
Some gains will not be seen for years. Fully funded health care, for
instance, will only become available in the third year of the contract.
About 7000 part-time janitors will receive no health benefits at all.
Several of the union's demands were left on the bargaining table. The
cleaning service companies will not be required to offer full-time jobs
to any portion of their part-time workers. Nor will sympathy strikes be
allowed in the contract. SEIU had wanted janitors in Boston to be able to
support any similar strikes in other cities.
Still, despite its limitations, the janitors' contract is a victory.
The management association was forced to make concessions they had vowed
not to make. The resulting contract also puts the union in a position to
build on its gains in future negotiations.
The director for the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern
University, Andrew Sum, correctly noted, "Public recognition of the
right and need to organize may well be the long-run, favorable payoff from
the strike" (Boston Globe, Oct. 25, 2002).
While the negotiations took place in the Parkman House, the official
city residence on Beacon Hill, the real power was shown in the streets.
Without determined and sustained action by union workers and a broad range
of supporters (especially Jobs with Justice members) who rallied, marched,
raised money, and maintained picket lines, the union leaders could never
have wielded what leverage they did have.
From the beginning, the janitors' strike gained popular support. An early
Boston Globe editorial ( Sept. 28, 2002) argued in favor of the union's
"legitimate demands" and called on the owners of Boston's buildings
to pressure the cleaning contractors "to accept union demands for decent
salaries and benefits."
Local politicians supported the strike, as did church and student groups.
The Republican governor threatened to end a $1.9 million State House cleaning
contract unless the city's largest cleaning company settled favorably with
the SEIU. The state's Democratic senators and mayor also pressured the companies
to reach an accord with the union.
Janitors are poorly paid and live paycheck to paycheck. A strike for
them is costly and dangerous. Yet, 2000 janitors waged a strike that hit
about 100 buildings and forced the companies to make concessions. The janitors'
morale and militancy were strong enough to win partial victories. That strength
and unity will be needed to maintain and extend this victory.
Socialist Action /November 2002 |