We’re Worth It!
By Susan Ellen Holleran
University of California/San Diego janitors worked for a contractor, struggling to make ends meet. Today they’re university employees — AFSCME members with a future.
San Diego
For Alejandra Rodriguez, the year 2001 has been the best of times and the worst of times. Over the past few months, she has lived through the exhilaration that accompanies efforts to organize co-workers into a union; anger and fear that flared up when she was fired because she spoke up for those workers; and the true satisfaction that comes from a job well done — winning union representation with a union contract and 50-plus percent pay increases.
Almost two years ago, Rodriguez joined the mostly Latino workforce at Bergensons. They provide janitorial services to a number of southern California companies, including the University of California/San Diego (UC/SD). Right away, she saw problems.
"The salary and benefits were not good," she says. "The workload was very heavy. We didn’t have the supplies we needed, and the employer did not treat us right."
When the Service Employees’ Justice for Janitors campaign chose Bergensons as an organizing target, Rodriguez became an enthusiastic participant. She knew a union would help them win better working conditions and wages.
San Diego’s AFSCME affiliates actively supported the organizing effort. On the UC/SD campus, members of Local 3299 joined student and faculty protesters pressuring the university to provide a decent income for campus janitors. The university agreed — and went even further.
Seeing Bergensons’ poor track record as an employer, the university decided to sever its relationship with the contractor. The regents brought the janitorial work in-house, offering jobs to current employees first. Not only would they have the opportunities and stability of university employment, they would also have AFSCME representation. Realizing how the change would benefit the workers, SEIU was very supportive.
Sabotage
Working out all the arrangements for the transfer took a few weeks. Infuriated at the loss of a very profitable contract, Bergensons’ managers spent that time spreading fear among their employees at UC/SD.
Ana Lopez had been involved in the organizing drive and knew what was at stake. She couldn’t be intimidated by Bergensons’ lies. Lopez was willing to work hard. And she wanted a better life for her three children than she could provide on the company’s meager pay — $5.75 an hour (the minimum wage), with no health insurance.
In early August, she joined other Bergensons workers filling out UC/SD applications. AFSCME provided Spanish-speaking interpreters and volunteers to help with the paperwork.
Lopez went onto the university payroll just weeks later. She is thrilled with her prospects: The pay increase will help her move to a better home; and the medical insurance means her children will have the care they need.
Rodriguez speaks proudly about how life on the job has improved since UC/SD hired her. "Now we have the supplies we need," she says. "The cleaning chemicals are much better. That makes the job easier."
Instructions for using the various cleansing solutions are printed in Spanish and in English on the labels, so workers can more clearly understand them. And UC/SD did something Bergensons had never done: trained the new workers on how to use the cleaning products safely.
"We’re doing our job to make sure good workers are not abused," says Local 3299 Pres. LaKesha Harrison, LVN. She and a new slate of other officers have recently moved into the local’s leadership. "I have been fighting subcontracting since I became involved with the union. We have won other victories in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. It is one of our priorities."
