Polish Daily News: Sławomira Chamiga has been cleaning office buildings for 26 years - and on Sunday, she will run in the Chicago Marathon for all janitors

The 65-year-old woman from the southwestern suburbs of Chicago wants to dedicate her fifth Chicago Marathon to her colleagues from the janitorial industry, who - as she says - on a normal day are often unappreciated and unnoticed, and who keep the 173 buildings along the 45th Bank of America Chicago Marathon clean.

By Joanna Marszalek, Dziennik Zwiazkowy (Polish Daily News)

65-year-old Sławomira Chamiga from Justice knows physical exertion and fatigue well. Not only because she has already run 19 marathons in her life, but mainly because she has cleaned the floors of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange skyscraper at South Wacker Drive and Madison in downtown Chicago on the night shift for 26 years. 

“Wiping desks, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming. You have to check and reach everywhere, bend down. Vacuuming causes pain in the arms, and a wet cloth causes rheumatism in the hands," said Chamiga. “We really do hard work and even though I run, it affects my health.” 

The 45th Bank of America Chicago Marathon, taking place this Sunday, October 8, will be Chamiga's fifth marathon run in Chicago and her twentieth in total. Last year, after the Tokyo Marathon, she won a special medal for completing ‘the big six’ of the most prestigious marathons in the world (Chicago, Boston, London, New York, Berlin and Tokyo). 

This time, during Polish Heritage Month, Chamiga decided to combine her passion with her work, dedicating the Sunday marathon to all the janitors who make sure that the offices in the high-rise buildings located along the route of this over 26-mile (over 42-kilometer) run are clean and look good. The SEIU Local 1, whose members are, among others, janitors, joined the action. 

Local 1 calculated that there are 173 buildings along the Chicago Marathon route that are cleaned by the Union janitors. Since most of them work night shifts, they often do not have the opportunity to view them from the outside in their full glory and admire the unique architecture of the city. Chamiga says that on Sunday, as she runs past the downtown skyscrapers, where she has been personally many times due to her work, she will think about her friends who clean them. 

“Their work is very often unappreciated and unnoticed. People don't realize how many miles you have to walk to keep them clean, day in and day out - for companies and the people who work there," she said.

Proud of Running and Cleaning

Chamiga, originally from Bolesławiec in Lower Silesia, came to the United States with her family in 1996. She didn’t start running until she was forty-something. It started with a walk with my husband along Lake Michigan in Chicago.

“A lot of runners passed us and my husband and I decided that next Sunday we would also put on sports clothes and try to run. When we ran from the Shedd Aquarium to Buckingham Fountain, we thought we were going to die. And that's how it started," recalls Chamiga. 

In the following years, Sławomira gradually increased the distance and started signing up for races - 5K, 10K, half marathon, and finally a marathon. From the beginning, her husband Andrzej accompanied her in her running adventure. She never paid much attention to the result, she focused on finishing the race. 

She didn't talk much about her passion for running at work. She works alone most of her night shift. When union leaders learned of the exploits of their longtime member and employee, they decided to support and honor her. On Thursday afternoon before the marathon, they were going to organize a small party in her honor.

“We are full of admiration for Sławomira not only as a person and runner, but also as an employee. It's amazing that she runs a marathon and then does her cleaning job, so demanding on the body. We are proud to have her in Local 1 and we want to show support for all janitors who will be fighting for a new contract next year," said Klaudia Siczek from Local 1's communications department.

Essential Workers

According to Sławomira, the COVID-19 pandemic particularly affected the office cleaning industry. 

“It is important to remember that not only nurses worked in hospitals 24 hours a day. Janitors couldn't do their job remotely. They also had to show up for work, often risking their lives," said Chamiga. 

According to Chamiga, since many people switched to remote work and offices started to empty out, the number of janitors in office buildings has decreased, and those who remained are burdened with additional duties. Increasingly demanding work does not go hand in hand with an increase in earnings to catch up with inflation. Sławomira says that after 26 years of work, her hourly rate is $20.15.
Chamiga also wishes that Polish immigrants working in the cleaning industry could stick together.

“It would be really nice if our people wanted to unite, organize better, and join the fight for workers' rights, as other nations do. It's easy to complain, but when it comes to fighting, there are few of us," she says.

According to the SEIU (Service Employee International Union) website, Local 1 has approximately 50,000 members - workers in six Midwestern states and 11 cities, with the largest numbers of janitors, window cleaners, security officers and airport workers. According to Siczek, the members include 24,000 janitors and over 4,000 airport workers. There are about 3,000 Poles.

From Chicago to South Africa

The room in the basement of the Chamiga’s home in Justice, just south-west of Chicago, is full of memorabilia from races and travelers. The walls are hung with Sławomira's and her husband's race medals, sports gadgets, marathon posters and world maps.

The energetic 65-year-old swaps her slippers for sneakers and hops on the treadmill to demonstrate her training during the cold months. During the summer, she runs around the entire Justice as part of his training. She easily jumps from the treadmill to the bench to do crunches. After completing the six largest marathons in the world, she now also wants to complete seven marathons on seven continents. Right after the Chicago Marathon, she flies to South Africa to take part in the Cape Town Marathon. 

Although running has allowed Sławomira to see the world, she says that she likes running in Chicago the most. 

“I really like this city. Can anybody say it is not beautiful, with all its buildings, parks and architecture? How can you not run in this city? Besides, it is also a kind of support for the place where I work. There is probably nothing more beautiful than working and being active in your city," said Sławomira with a beaming smile.

j.marszalek@zwiazkowy.com
Photos: Joanna Marszałek

Original article: https://dziennikzwiazkowy.com/chicago/slawomira-chamiga-od-26-lat-sprzata-biurowce-w-niedziele-dla-wszystkich-sprzataczy-przebiegnie-chicagowski-maraton/