The Houston Chronicle (Texas), October 24, 2006, Tuesday

Copyright 2006 The Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle (Texas)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

October 24, 2006 Tuesday

SECTION: BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS

HEADLINE: Janitors set strike in motion: Action takes aim at limited number of buildings

BYLINE: L.M. Sixel and Brad Hem, Houston Chronicle

BODY:
Oct. 24--Houston janitors started striking Monday evening, with the union targeting a limited number of buildings initially and saying an increasing number of workers will join the effort until the city's five major commercial cleaning companies return to the bargaining table.
Last week, contract negotiations broke down between the five cleaning companies and the Service Employees International Union, which wants a raise to $8.50 an hour, more guaranteed work hours and health insurance for the 5,300 janitors it represents.
The cleaning companies responded with a statement saying union demands are "extreme" and beyond what they can afford.
SEIU targeted downtown office buildings to launch its walkout, estimating at least 500 janitors went on strike Monday night, either staying home or walking the picket line, SEIU spokeswoman Lynda Tran said.
The union, which plans to shift its strike targets day by day, also is trying to line up public support. Banging on drums and carrying mops and picket signs, about 500 janitors and other supporters wove through the downtown streets Monday evening, around the time when strikers would normally have reporting for their night work. Marchers drew honks from rush-hour commuters. Such rallies will be daily events until Houston's cleaning companies return to negotiations, Tran said.
A statement from the Houston Area Service Contractors Association, which consists of ABM Janitorial Services, GCA Services, OneSource and Sanitors Services of Texas, as well as Pritchard Industries Southwest, said the companies were not happy about the strike.
"We are extremely disappointed that the union elected this strike action, particularly since there are a number of open issues to resolve. The union interrupted the discussion of noneconomic items recently with the presentation of an economic proposal that called for wage and benefit increases in excess of 70 percent," it said.
"In our view, these economic demands are extreme, particularly since building owners and managers are continually faced with competitive pressures and utility, property tax and other increases.
"We would like to see this resolved, but we must protect our customers' interests and reach an agreement that is realistic."
Property manager targeted
The union has targeted Hines Interests, a major property manager here and in other cities, which says it has contracts with three of the cleaning contractors in the buildings it manages: Sanitors, OneSource and ABM.
"We hope that the big cleaning companies and the SEIU will agree on a mutually acceptable contract as quickly as possible," George Lancaster, vice president of Hines, said.
"Even though we pledged neutrality to the union, at their request we did make it publicly known that we support health insurance and pay in excess of the federal minimum wage for janitors in Houston," he said, adding that Hines is not a party to the negotiations.
Hines has made certain that each of the janitorial firms it uses has contingency plans in place to keep the buildings clean in case of a strike, he said.
Flora Aguilar, 51, will rely on payments from the union's strike fund, estimated at more than $1 million, and some baby-sitting work to make ends meet while she strikes.
"I'm prepared to be on strike until they take us seriously and negotiate until we have a contract," she said.
Injunction on protests
As marchers reached Tranquillity Park for strike training Monday night, organizers learned that U.S. District Judge Gray Miller issued an injunction that will allow the union to ignore the city's restrictions on demonstrations that have limited its ability to protest during times when it can have the biggest impact.
Miller ordered the city of Houston not to enforce ordinances that require permits for sound amplification devices, parading through streets and gathering in public parks. The city argued those rules exist to protect public safety, but union lawyers said the laws violate demonstrators' First Amendment rights.
After the late-day decision, the spokesman for Mayor Bill White, Frank Michel, could not be reached when called for comment Monday night.
"The union is pulling out all the stops," said Richard Hurd, professor of industrial and labor relations at Cornell University, who has been closely watching the janitor's campaign in Houston.
The union has encountered some very difficult negotiations, said Hurd, adding that he is surprised it has reached the strike stage.
He speculated that SEIU is focusing on Hines, which has already come out in favor of higher wages and benefits, because that's where it has the most leverage.
"I'm sure they're exerting escalating pressure on the other building owners to fall in line," he said.
It's essential for the union to get the building owners on board because they're the ones who control the budgets, he said.
Once building owners agree to pay higher wages and benefits, he said, they won't have the incentive to find cheaper cleaning companies.
lm.sixel@chron.com
brad.hem@chron.com
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