HOUSTON—At City Hall today, dozens of janitors are attending the City Council meeting to speak on the effect low wages have on families and are asking that City Council members support the good jobs Houston needs.   The janitors’ appeal to City Council is part of ongoing efforts to ensure janitors and cleaning contractors reach a fair agreement that improves jobs and strengthens our economy before the contract expires March 30, 2010—without repeating the struggles of 2006, the four-week strike that drew international attention to their plight.

“Houston janitors clean our city's most prestigious buildings, but they are paid only $8,000-$12,000 a year.  If you work hard in our city, you should be paid enough to be able to provide for your family,” says Houston City Council Member Ed Gonzalez, District H.  “As an elected leader, I have always stood with these hard-working families and will continue to support them. I encourage all parties, the cleaning contractors and the building owners, to support a fair agreement that continues to strengthen our city and our economy.”

Although janitors made progress in their first union contract in 2006, they are still living below the poverty level.  Yet London-based Barclays, owner of nineteen buildings that janitors clean, paid out $4 billion in bonuses to its executives last year.  Thousands of Houstonians continue to struggle to pay for groceries, rent and other necessities, even while corporate profits increase.  In fact, more than 14% of Houstonians are below the poverty level and more than 20% of those individuals are children.
 
“Better jobs for janitors will benefit the whole community because when we have more money, we can contribute more to the economy,” says Rosalinda Rocha, a janitor who works for ABM.  “We are asking for support from the City Council today to help make sure that the contractors work with us to reach a fair agreement that benefits thousands of janitors and our economy.”

Janitors are negotiating with the largest cleaning contractors in Houston—ABM, Pritchard, ISS/Sanitors, GCA, UBM and Aztec.