Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of workers, members of SEIU Local 26, rallied Feb. 17, as janitors walked off the job in a 24-hour unfair labor practices strike. The janitors clean the skyscrapers in downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul and office buildings throughout the suburbs. The strike comes after months of negotiations in which management companies have refused to budge on key issues for the union. The company wage offer is only 20 additional cents an hour and management is only offering to create part-time jobs. The union is pushing for a $15 minimum for all janitors and full-time work with livable wages.
Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, Feb. 6, about 40 people gathered at the Minneapolis Labor Center to train for civil disobedience in support of the janitors of SEIU Local 26. The janitors clean the downtown office buildings of some of the richest banks and corporations in the country, but they have low pay and bad work conditions. Since the janitors' union contract expired on Jan. 8, a strike of the 4000 janitors – mostly Latino and East African immigrants – could begin at any time. The janitors are demanding “good, clean, green jobs” along with full-time work at a decent wage, safe and environmentally friendly cleaning chemicals and day jobs instead of overnight shift. Their employer is refusing to move in negotiations.
Minneapolis, MN – On Jan. 30, hundreds of janitors, mostly Latino and East African immigrants, held a spirited meeting at the Minneapolis Labor Center and voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike. When the strike vote was taken, the multinational crowd chanted and held up signs reading “Yes! Sí! Haa! Ee! Oui!” ('Yes!' in English, Spanish, Somali, Oromo and Amharic). With the strike authorization vote, the workers can now strike if the union’s negotiating committee decides a strike is necessary to win their demands.
![SEIU 26 janitors vote "yes" to authorize a strike](https://i.snap.as/pL7kgnU9.jpg "SEIU 26 janitors vote \\"yes\\" to authorize a strike \(Fight Back! News/Staff\)")