"One St. Louis is about everybody"

Janie McKinley has worked as a janitor for 14 years and currently cleans UMB Bank downtown. She joined her coworkers on October 23 as they kicked off the fight for One St. Louis - $15 and good union jobs for every working family - at the Old Courthouse downtown. She’s one of the 2,100 janitors currently bargaining for a strong new contract.

For Janie, $15 means more financial stability. She would have an easier time paying the bills and keeping a roof over her head. Janie’s a proud grandmother of twins, and sometimes her grandkids stay at her house. “I want to be able to support them more and buy little things for them, like every grandma does.” 

A $15 wage would reverberate across Janie’s community. She carpools to work every day with her neighbor, also a janitor downtown, and she says many janitors live in her neighborhood. But the fight for $15 and One St. Louis goes beyond just janitors like her: “This is about everyone. No one should have to work two or even three jobs just to make ends meet.”