SEIU Local 1 Janitors, Clergy, and Labor Leaders, Arrested in Civil Disobedience Earlier this Week, to Announce Result of Industry-Wide Strike Vote
Possible janitorial strike could affect major buildings across the region including St. Louis County facilities, US Bank Plaza, Express Scripts, Wells Fargo and more
ST. LOUIS – On Thursday, January 30 at 10am, SEIU Local 1 janitors, joined by Rabbi Susan Talve and Darryl Gray, as well as St. Louis Building Trades Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer John Stiffler, will announce the result of an industry-wide strike vote as they head into their final days of contract negotiations. Janitors will make the announcement and pray for a positive outcome to bargaining, including the raises they need to support their families. Should negotiations for higher wages and better benefits stall, Local 1 janitors could possibly walk off the job in the coming days.
The announcement comes after CleanTech janitors, joined by community allies and Ald. Megan Green (15), were arrested in civil disobedience outside US Bank Plaza on Monday. Currently, janitors who clean prominent St. Louis-region buildings, like St. Louis County facilities, US Bank Plaza, Peabody Plaza, Express Scripts, Boeing, One Metropolitan Square, the Wells Fargo Building, BJC Healthcare and more, are struggling to raise their families wages as low as $10. Median annual earnings for janitors are so low that many rely on public assistance just to make ends meet.
Janitors and allies will gather outside 100 N. Broadway in downtown St. Louis to make the announcement, surrounded by the buildings they keep clean. Together, they continue the fight for One St. Louis, where all working families can support themselves with at least $15 and good union jobs to make our region more equitable across racial lines.
WHAT: SEIU Local 1 Janitors Announce Result of Industry-Wide Strike Vote
WHEN: Thursday, January 30, 2020, 10 A.M.
WHERE: 100 N. Broadway, St. Louis, Missouri 63102
WHO: SEIU Local 1 janitors, St. Louis Building Trades Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer John Stiffler, Rev. Susan Talve, Rev. Darryl Gray, community allies
VISUALS: Janitors, clergy, holding brooms and mops, rallying, praying, holding signs
BACKGROUND: On October 23, janitors rallied outside the Old Courthouse to kick off the fight for One St. Louis, a region where all working families can support themselves with at least a $15 wage and good union jobs. Their fight is in line with the Ferguson Commission’s recommendations to enact a $15 wage to give working people the opportunity to thrive. Five years after the protests, janitors are coming together for the transformative change their communities need.
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Service Employees International Union Local 1 unites 50,000 workers throughout the Midwest, including more than 5,000 commercial janitors, higher education faculty, food service workers, state workers in the Division of Probation and Parole, school custodians, patient care professionals, and more in Missouri. Local 1 is committed to improving the lives of its members and all working people by winning real economic justice and standing at the forefront of the fight for immigrant, racial and environmental justice.