The Houston Chronicle, January 16, 2007, Tuesday

Copyright 2007 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved

The Houston Chronicle

January 16, 2007 Tuesday

2 STAR EDITION

SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 1

HEADLINE: Janitors await their raises;

One company hasn't signed yet, causing a delay

BYLINE: L.M. SIXEL, Staff

BODY:

When the SEIU asked Houston janitors to go on strike in October, Julia Quintero put down her broom and marched in the streets.

Like many of Houston's 5,300 janitors, Quintero was jubilant when she learned that the Service Employees International Union and the five large cleaning companies, including the one she works for, had reached a tentative deal on a three-year contract.

But the promised raise on Jan. 1, from $5.15 an hour to $6.25, hasn't materialized. Quintero and her co-workers also didn't get holiday pay for New Year's, which was supposed to be part of the new contract.

It turns out that the deal that was announced a few days before Thanksgiving still hasn't been signed by all five companies, according to SEIU spokeswoman Lynda Tran in Washington, D.C.

"I don't think it's a problem," said Tran, who characterized the tie-up as a typical administrative delay. "I have not heard anything to be concerned with."

Tran said that once all five companies sign the contract, even if that takes several months, she believes the janitors will receive back wages from Jan. 1.

The four cleaning companies that have signed the accord are ABM Janitorial Services, Sanitors Services of Texas, OneSource Facility Services and GCA Services Group, according to Tran. Pritchard Industries Southwest, however, did not sign, Tran said.

Pritchard's company representative and its lawyer could not be reached for comment. Representatives of the other firms either did not return calls or did not want to comment.

If straightening out the problem takes several months, it could be that Congress ends up giving the janitors a raise before the SEIU.

Minimum wage

Last week, the House voted to raise the minimum wage to $5.85, which would take effect 60 days after the bill becomes law. The Senate is expected to take the matter up before the end of the month.

Tran said there is a stipulation in the contract that the janitors will earn 25 cents an hour more than the minimum wage. So even with the increase in the federal minimum wage, they'll be earning more, she said.

Although none of the companies were available for comment to explain the hang-up, Richard Hurd, a labor studies professor at Cornell University, said the problem could be caused by a variety of reasons such as legal issues or contract language.

Disappointed in SEIU

Whatever the reason, Quintero is not pleased with her union.

"I'm very disappointed in the SEIU," said Quintero, who said she earns $5.15 an hour working four hours a night cleaning a downtown building. "They dropped the ball."

Quintero said she's especially upset because when she calls the SEIU offices in Houston she can't get an explanation.

"We did our part," Quintero said. "They didn't do theirs."

Workers get really frustrated in any situation when there is an agreement and they don't see any results, Hurd said.

It's SEIU's responsibility to communicate about the problems, he said.

But Tran said she believes the union has kept the janitors up to date about the delays.

Keep members informed

Michael Lotito, an employment lawyer with Jackson Lewis in San Francisco who represents management, said it's important for any union to keep its members well informed.

The only way unions have to get employees to sign up workers in Texas is to use peer pressure, Lotito said. That's because in Texas, workers don't have to join a union to still receive the negotiated wages and benefits.

But if those very workers are turned off, they can't exert that pressure, he said.

NOTES: lm.sixel@chron.com