Local 1 Essential Janitors Rally Outside of Anheuser-Busch Flagship Brewery for Good Janitorial Jobs and to Protect Standards for Working People
ST. LOUIS, MO — On Saturday November 1, essential janitors rallied at the Anheuser-Busch Flagship Brewery to demand good janitorial jobs with fair wages and job security as contract negotiations impacting 1,600 janitors continue. The working people who keep the A-B Flagship Brewery clean and safe work for Clean-Tech, a subsidiary of HES, one of the two largest cleaning contractors in the St. Louis area – and essential janitors in their respective buildings are being offered 45 cents above minimum wage and seven cents more toward retirement, which would not happen until 2028. Even workers with years of service are only being offered 60 cents.
Local 1 member leaders want to be clear: St. Louisans deserve better. Working families deserve good paying Union jobs and essential janitors deserve a fair contract now. Essential workers have been maintaining office buildings across St. Louis County for decades. Despite their hard work, many are struggling to make ends meet, even while juggling two or three jobs. It's time for building owners and janitorial contractors profiting from their labor to provide sustainable Union jobs that strengthen the working class and, in turn, the local economy.
When workers struggle to meet basic needs, the entire economy suffers. Multi-million dollar companies can no longer profit off the backs of working families without ensuring proper compensation for the essential work they do.
“My fellow janitors and I work tirelessly to ensure buildings throughout St. Louis remain safe and sanitized, and we’ve been doing so for decades. It is unfortunate and frustrating that my company and other contractors at the bargaining table are asking us to vote on a disrespectful offer,” said Belinda Hutcherson, Local 1 bargaining committee member and 4M janitor. “I’m confident that my fellow janitors will vote this offer down and continue to fight for the contract we deserve, because thousands of St. Louis working families depend on it.”
“The janitors are the ones who make companies like Clean-Tech and 4M profitable,” said Chris Rak, SEIU Local 1 Vice President and Missouri Director. “There are workers with decades of experience who are being offered wages that are barely above minimum wage. Local 1 members are essential, yet these companies offer them wages that keep them below the poverty line. It’s an insult.”