HOUSTON—Today, the first day janitors and their employers return to contract negotiations, faith leaders and hundreds of janitors are praying that Houston’s wealthy business leaders work with janitors to reach a fair agreement that improves jobs for working families and strengthens our city’s economy. Clergy and janitors are calling on business leaders to avoid repeating the struggles of 2006—including the month-long strike and civil disobedience.
In 2006 when similar negotiations broke down Houston janitors were forced to go on strike to win the good jobs Houston needs, but many janitors still struggle to pay for basic necessities on just $8,000 to $12,000 a year.
While janitors and other working people are tightening their belts, some of Houston’s corporate leaders are making record profits—even through the economic downturn:
• Barclays, the largest building owner in Houston, made $15.4 billion in profit last year and paid out $4 billion in bonuses.
• Exxon, another major building owner, was ranked the highest earning company by the S&P 500 and tops the Fortune 500 list as the most profitable company in the world.
Though Houston has one of the strongest real estate markets and economies in the country, janitors are paid significantly less than janitors who work for the same cleaning contractors and clean buildings owned by the same corporations in most major metropolitan areas. For example, in Chicago where the average rental rates are about the same as in Houston at about $23 per square foot, janitors are paid $14 an hour—nearly twice as much as janitors in Houston—and have full-family health insurance, a pension and other benefits. Janitors in Houston, by contrast, pay $20 a month for single coverage.
“We take home less than $1,000 a month and we’re lucky if that covers our housing and our food,” says Alice McAfee, a janitor who works for ABM. “It’s better now than it was, but it’s just a start. So I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to keep us moving forward.”
Janitors believe that cooperation is possible with cleaning contractors ABM, Pritchard, ISS/Sanitors, GCA, UBM and Aztec. The janitors’ current contract expires March 30.