Houston—In response to a wealthy landlords’ association cracking down on low-wage Houston workers in recent weeks, approximately 150 Houston janitors are taking to downtown streets today to stand up for the fundamental American freedoms of speech and association.

“Working people need to be able to speak with each other if we’re going to build a stronger economy that works for everybody in Houston, not just the big shots,” says Mercedes Herrera, a Houston janitor who has been prevented from meeting with her counterparts in several downtown buildings.

As in 2006, Houston janitors are seeking to build a stronger economy and a better future for Houston families by helping to create better jobs in the city. But the wealthy building owners’ association has been taking steps to impede the janitors’ efforts. In a controversial posting on its web site in late August, the Houston branch of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) gave the city’s commercial landlords advice on how to curtail communication between union members and their representatives in commercial office buildings. Since then, janitors and their representatives have been regularly denied access to buildings as they attempted to meet with janitors to discuss how best to improve the quality of jobs and services in Houston’s janitorial industry.  

Today’s march comes as janitors are preparing to negotiate a new agreement that will determine wages and working conditions for more than 3,200 Houston janitors. The current agreement, reached after the janitors’ historic 2006 strike, expires in November. Janitors hope that they will not be forced to go on strike in 2009, and are optimistic that business leaders will help janitors create better jobs for Houston at the bargaining table.