On June 15, 1990, members of the Los Angeles janitors union launched a strike that became a turning point for the labor movement. The Justice for Janitors campaign pitted low-wage, mostly immigrant workers against powerful corporations and helped build a lasting movement for economic and social justice. More than three decades later, janitors continue that fight.
On June 12th, over 100 janitors who clean Silicon Valley’s tech campuses held a rally at the Meta campus in Menlo Park to mark the anniversary of Justice for Janitors Day and call attention to dangerous workloads that are putting workers at risk of injury. As tech companies have reduced staffing levels through layoffs and cost-cutting measures, janitors are being assigned significantly larger cleaning areas and heavier workloads.
At Meta and other tech campuses, SEIU United Service Workers West (USWW) members have filed grievances over excessive workloads and staffing reductions. Members say they are being asked to clean the same amount of space, or more, with fewer people, creating conditions that increase the risk of repetitive stress injuries, falls, and other workplace hazards.
Janitors are calling on tech companies and their janitorial contractors to address dangerous workloads, restore adequate staffing levels, and ensure workers can perform their jobs safely. As employers continue requiring workers to return to the office, janitors say clean, healthy workplaces depend on having enough trained staff to do the work safely and effectively.