The Houston Chronicle, November 1, 2006, Wednesday

Copyright 2006 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
The Houston Chronicle

November 1, 2006 Wednesday
3 STAR EDITION

SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 1

HEADLINE: Janitors' protests hit the road;
Union taking its message to other cities

BYLINE: L.M. SIXEL, ALEXIS GRANT, STAFF

BODY:
In an effort to gain support for their cause here, Houston janitors are traveling to other cities to picket buildings served by their employers.
The Service Employees International Union said during a conference call Tuesday that Houston janitors would begin picketing Halloween night in the Chicago area.
Later in the week, the union plans to set up picket lines in Los Angeles, Sacramento,Calif., and Washington as part of a "national escalation plan."
The union hopes the picketing will bring nationwide attention to the 5,300 Houston janitors who earn an average of $5.30 an hour, which is less than half of what janitors in Chicago and Los Angeles earn. Houston janitors are seeking a raise to $8.50 an hour and health care benefits.
"It's a way of sending a message to contractors that if they don't resolve the problem in Houston, it will affect them in other cities where they have bargaining relationships," said Richard Hurd, a labor studies professor at Cornell University.
According to the SEIU, 1,700 Houston janitors have gone on strike. Of those, 700 have requested financial assistance from the union's $1 million strike fund, said SEIU spokeswoman Lynda Tran, who predicted more janitors would apply next week.
Union officials would not identify the number or location of the buildings across the country they have targeted, nor will they reveal whether the picket lines will last more than a day.
Jose Ibarra, a janitor in Los Angeles and a SEIU member, said during Tuesday's conference call that he will honor the picket lines. "Houston janitors do the same work as we do," he said. "They need us now and we'll be there for them. We'll fight for as long as it takes because what happens in Houston affects us all."
The five cleaning contractors that are negotiating with the union - ABM Janitorial Services, Sanitors Services of Texas, OneSource Facility Services, GCA Services Group and Pritchard Industries Southwest - said they didn't want to comment or could not be reached.
Houston janitors also took up their cause Tuesday by chanting and beating drums in front of a downtown hotel as business leaders filed in for a meeting of the Greater Houston Partnership. Half a dozen mounted police officers and other officers on foot kept watch.
"We would like major business leaders and nonprofits to take a stand for janitors," said Lisa Fithian, an organizer with SEIU's Justice for Janitors.
Mayor Bill White, who avoided the demonstrators by leaving through a hotel side door, said while the city is neutral in labor disputes, it would save taxpayer money if workers had health insurance. "I do hope that we find a way to get more health benefits at least to full-time employees," he said.

NOTES: lm.sixel@chron.com alexis.grant@chron.com

GRAPHIC: Photo: JANITORS SPEAK OUT: Maria Jimenez and other members of the SEIU protest in front of the Four Seasons Hotel downtown on Tuesday.
STEVE CAMPBELL : CHRONICLE