SF Office Janitors Vote On Wage Increases, Labor Protections

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Janitors who clean San Francisco office buildings are voting Saturday on a tentative agreement including wage increases, work for laid off janitors, safety protections and medical benefits, according to their union.

The janitors are represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 87, which announced the vote Saturday morning. The agreement would be between SEIU and the cleaning contractors that serve owners of many San Francisco office buildings.

"Against all the odds, we kept fighting for ourselves and our families. Our work is hard work, it is skilled work, it is essential work. We risk ourselves to keep everyone safe. We deserve protection too," Ramiro Rodriguez, a janitor and bargaining committee member, said in the SEIU announcement. "This contract is a step towards winning the respect we deserve."

The workers, the majority of them women, people of color and immigrants, clean buildings whose tenants include Salesforce, Facebook and Google, the union said.

More than 700 San Francisco janitors walked off the job in March to protest labor practices amid extended contract negotiations. In addition to wage increases and labor protections, the janitors were seeking safety protections, including a requirement that ventilation systems be run at night while they are working.

The vote is set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Oracle Park, at 24 Willie Mays Plaza in San Francisco.

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