BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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Date of Hearing: June 6, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Sandre Swanson, Chair
ACR 155 (Fuentes) - As Introduced: May 8, 2012
SUBJECT : Justice for Janitors Day.
SUMMARY : Recognizes June 15 as "Justice for Janitors Day" to
commemorate the struggle of janitors for affordable family
health care and dignified wages. Specifically, this resolution
makes the following Legislative findings and declarations:
1)Thousands of California janitors work for contractors and
building owners, cleaning office buildings, business parks,
high-tech campuses, and many other sectors of the California
market.
2)For more than a decade these janitors, through the Justice for
Janitors campaign, have worked hard to lift themselves out of
poverty and, almost everywhere, have secured family health
care. By lifting themselves up, these janitors have thereby
transformed a once troubled industry.
3)The progress of these janitors, through their campaigns for
affordable family health care and dignified wages, has
benefited our entire community, including immigrant
communities and local businesses, and brightened the hopes of
an economic recovery in California. These janitors are proof
of the American Dream of advancing to a better life through
hard work.
4)Affordable medical benefits have kept these janitors and their
families healthier, thereby reducing costs borne by the rest
of the community, and affordable medical benefits have kept
these families from facing financial calamity when illness
strikes.
5)For two decades, the SEIU United Service Workers West Justice
for Janitors movement has helped low-wage workers who clean
buildings in major cities and suburbs across California to
achieve social and economic justice and earn broad-based
support from the public as well as religious, political, and
community leaders.
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6)June 15th has for 22 years in the United States been
celebrated by janitors and their supporters as Justice for
Janitors Day, a day when janitors and other workers
demonstrate for justice in order to ensure dignified wages and
affordable family health care.
COMMENTS : This resolution is sponsored by the Service
Employees International Union - United Service Workers West
(SEIU-USWW). The sponsor describes the history of "Justice for
Janitors Day" as follows:
"The original Justice for Janitors Day was established
after janitors in Los Angeles organizing for dignified
wages and affordable health care were beaten by police
during a peaceful demonstration on June 15, 1990. The
incident generated intense public outrage and resulted in
the cleaning contractor recognizing the L.A. janitors in a
union. In remembrance of that monumental day, SEIU
janitors and supporters take action every June 15 in cities
nationwide."
SEIU-USWW states the following in support of the current
resolution:
"For over two decades, SEIU's Justice for Janitors movement
has helped poverty-wage workers achieve a better life. Using
market-wide master contracts, SEIU has organized 225,000
janitors in more than 30 cities throughout North America.
In California, SEIU United Services Workers West (SEIU-USWW)
represents 18,000 janitors in Sacramento, the Bay Area, Los
Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. The majority of these
workers are recent immigrants. Through past contract fights
janitors have lifted wages out of poverty, achieved full
employer-paid family health insurance, job security, full-time
work opportunities, training programs and worker retention.
SEIU-USWW has joined with the cleaning contractors and their
clients to create programs to work towards improving the
industry as a whole. The Building Skills Partnership (BSP)
helps immigrant workers obtain language and computers skills
through worksite-based classes. The Maintenance Contractors
Trust Fund (MCTF) works with the state to help enforce labor
laws.
This year, the master contracts for 18,000 janitorial members
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of SEIU-USWW are under negotiation. With unprecedented
increases in the costs of health care and tremendous downward
pressure on wages, these 18,000 janitors are the face of the
economic crisis in California."
PRIOR RELATED LEGISLATION :
SCR 102 (Kehoe) of 2008 similarly designated June 15, 2008 as
"Justice for Janitors Day" and encouraged California residents,
property owners, businesses and government entities to support a
specified contract campaign.
HR 15 (Jerome Horton) of 2005 stated the support of the
California State Assembly for janitors' efforts to obtain health
care coverage for themselves and their families by encouraging
businesses in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical, commercial
real estate, and high technology and defense industries in
Southern California to tell their cleaning contractors that they
will support family health care insurance for their contract
janitors.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
Service Employees International Union California
Service Employees International Union - United Service Workers
West (sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091