MINNEAPOLIS (PAI) — After the office doors close and the phones stop ringing, the “invisible” workforce filters into downtown buildings. Janitors sweep and polish floors and clean windows. Security guards patrol silent hallways.
To raise their visibility, janitors from Service Employees International Union Local 26 led a march through downtown Minneapolis on June 15, a day which SEIU had declared “Justice for Janitors Day” worldwide.
Hundreds of union members joined the march to call for full-time jobs with health care for building service workers. The crowd included immigrants from several countries, who make up a large segment of the building services workforce in Minnesota. Native Minnesotans, who also are employed in the industry, joined them, as did members of other unions who participated to show support.
Janitors had a global day of activity on three continents. At British consulates and embassies in the U.S., Germany, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, and South Africa, they demonstrated in solidarity with their counterparts at the British Parliament, who are barely eking out a living, according to the SEIU. Other actions were in U.S. cities, including Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Indianapolis and Seattle.
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