BOSTON — After weeks of simmering tensions, hundreds of Boston area janitors began their strike last night at 17 downtown office buildings and more than a dozen in the suburbs, and threatened to stay out until they receive better pay and health benefits, the Boston Globe reported.
Janitors who attempted to cross picket lines were heckled by union members at some of the buildings targeted in the first day of a labor action that both sides say could drag on for weeks and become increasingly disruptive, especially if other unions follow through on pledges to honor picket lines.
The janitors’ union has targeted buildings cleaned by Unicco Service Co. of Newton, the area’s largest cleaning contractor, demanding higher wages and health benefits for a largely immigrant Latino work force, most of whom don’t have full-time jobs or benefits. The strike was expected to continue this morning with the early shift, typically starting between 6 and 8 a.m., and to expand to dozens more buildings in the coming days.
Janitors gathered at picket sites around the city last night and marched toward the Old West Church on the edge of Beacon Hill. Turnout was light at some of the designated sites, high-rises that employ thousands of Boston’s financial employees and other professionals, and it was clear a segment of the union membership wasn’t joining in the strike. But the striking janitors, estimated at 1,200 by union leaders, received strong support from community activists, members of other unions, and clergy once they arrived at a church rally that drew about 600 people. College students also rallied last night at Northeastern University, an additional strike target, in support of the janitors.
The disruption to the city of Boston and to some of its most prestigious firms could be widespread. Last night, a few unionized drivers for United Parcel Service refused to cross picket lines to deliver packages, and several building trades along with the state AFL-CIO leadership said they would honor the picket lines. Downtown businesses are concerned about the deteriorating condition of offices if trash and bathrooms are neglected. To clean the buildings, Unicco has begun recruiting replacement workers.
”What I fear is violence in a strike like this when people really have intense feelings about it,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said last night. ”It’s the wrong time for disruption in our business community. The real issues are a fair and equitable contract.”
In a glimmer of hope, both sides confirmed last night that cleaning contractors in the area, led by Unicco, requested a federal mediator to intervene and seek a settlement. Representatives of the contactors and the union, Boston Local 254 of the Service Employees International Union, are meeting this morning, but remain far apart on the divisive issue of how many more janitors may be made eligible for health benefits.
The janitors, an army of unseen workers in Boston, thus far have failed to get what they want in negotiations, despite support from politicians such as Senator Edward M. Kennedy, as well as major financial firms such as FleetBoston Financial Corp., John Hancock Financial Services, and State Street Corp.
”I need money to pay my bills, so I’m very scared,” said Maria Lopes, 41, a single mother from Cape Verde, who was picketing outside the Russia Wharf building near the waterfront last night. ”I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to be strong. I like to stand up for better jobs, better for me, better for everybody.”
Elsewhere, more than 25 workers at the World Trade Center wore T-shirts saying ”Justicia” and chanting in Spanish, ”No more cleaning for the boss!”
Union members walked off the job two weeks after they voted to approve a strike when their leaders reached an impasse with cleaning contractors. The parties had appeared to be close to agreement in mid-September. But the talks ended when the union demanded that 1,500 janitors be provided health insurance benefits, and cleaning contractors said they would try to provide insurance for perhaps half that many.
James Canavan, a Unicco executive and lead negotiator for 30 cleaning companies, said a quick settlement would be difficult. ”Anything is possible,” he said, ”but there are some very difficult issues on the table.” The union was clearly working last night to build support for the strike among a segment of its work force that was reluctant to give up their paychecks. About 5 percent of janitors in buildings targeted yesterday crossed the picket lines, union leaders estimated. But one striking janitor at the World Trade Center estimated that only about half of her coworkers didn’t show up for work.
As the janitors arrived for their shifts around 5:30 p.m., protests grew heated at One Beacon Street. Manuel Alvarado, 42, a janitor from El Salvador, came to work to find about 20 strikers wearing purple shirts with the words ”Standing up for the American Dream” and holding signs that said ”Health Care for Families.”
On his way inside, Alvarado was surrounded by coworkers who tried to press a T-Shirt into his hands. They yelled in Spanish, ”Don’t have any fears; this is a just struggle.” He kept walking and shaking his head until they began screaming in his face, ”You can’t go inside! No one can pass!”
”I want to be a responsible employee,” Alvarado said. ”If they don’t want to work, that’s their choice.”
Not everybody intending to work punched the clock. One 31-year-old Salvadoran woman from Chelsea showed up for her shift at 100 Federal Street, where FleetBoston is located, and was met by about 30 or 40 strikers. After a few minutes of loud and intense haranguing, she was persuaded to join the picketers. ”I’m nervous,” she said. ”I want to work, and I need the money, but I also want to strike.” Between 10 and 20 janitors crossed the line at 100 Federal, some quietly, while the picketers’ attention was diverted.
Cleaning companies contend many workers are reluctant to strike and will keep showing up for work. Victor Munger, vice president of human resources at Unicco, said the national leadership of the janitors’ union is ”making unrealistic promises to our employees” about what they can expect from a strike. They were ”driving our employees into a strike that’s unnecessary and one they don’t want or have very little interest in,” Munger said.
As the union action heats up, building owners in downtown Boston might need to absorb some costs needed to settle the strike. But with the real estate industry in the midst of a slump, Equity Office Properties Trust, Beacon Properties, and other owners have shown no willingness to do so.
A janitors strike in Los Angeles lasted three weeks in 2000, with strikers in the end winning a 25 percent increase in pay over three years. Contractors there also agreed to absorb all increases in health insurance costs and to provide five days’ sick leave per year. In Boston, most janitors are part-time and do not have health insurance or sick leave.
Another point of pressure in the strike could come from major tenants if they enter the fray and urge building owners and cleaning companies to help settle the dispute. Those tenants, who would be most inconvenienced by a strike, have issued statements supporting the janitors and are urging quick resolution. FleetBoston, the region’s biggest banking company, took that position a step further yesterday, saying it would be prepared to pay more for cleaning services, if necessary. Fleet’s headquarters at 100 Federal Street is among the buildings targeted for day one of the strike.
”We’re obviously aware that if a contract is reached that provides a higher level of wages and benefits [to janitors], that would increase the cost to customers,” said James Mahoney, a Fleet spokesman.
To prepare for what could be a prolonged strike, Unicco confirmed it has begun recruiting replacements. Nearly two dozen people seeking work crowded into Unicco’s office in downtown Boston yesterday morning to fill out job applications. Among them were a Haitian-American security guard who immigrated 20 years ago, two young men visiting from the Czech Republic; and several other unemployed workers looking for a janitor’s job, which pays $9.95 an hour for part-time work.
Debbie Colon, a Latina woman in her 20s with gold ringlets, applied yesterday at Unicco seeking an improvement over her part-time job, earning $7 an hour, without benefits, at Finagle a Bagel. ”They said they were going to call us, but I don’t know,” she said.
Munger said yesterday that replacements are being hired ”with the intent to be able to meet our commitments to our customers.” He would not say if the workers are temporary or permanent.