Janitors prep for strike that could be messy for downtown Seattle

King County janitors clad in their union colors — purple and yellow — rallied Friday in Seattle, warning that 4,000 cleaners may walk off the job as early as June 30 if a new contract isn’t reached.

Service Employees International Union 6 janitorial members are employed by large cleaning services firms: ABM, SBM Management Services, Pacific Building Services and Alliance Building Services, among others. These janitorial workers are scattered around the Seattle area, but met in downtown Seattle because many work in buildings there.

The SEIU6 janitors and the employers continue to negotiate ahead of the current contract’s June 30 expiration date. If no deal is reached, janitors could then strike.

The region’s largest labor organization has agreed to support the strike by barring other union members, including sanitation workers, from servicing the buildings where SEIU6-represented janitors are picketing.

The employers did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

During a Friday trek through downtown Seattle, hundreds of union members chanted, “No contract, no peace,” and “Sí, se puede” — a labor slogan that is Spanish for “yes, it can be done” — while being bolstered by drums, speakers blasting music and even a mariachi band. The group traveled from F5 Tower on Fifth Avenue to Safeco Plaza on Fourth Avenue, ending the rally at DocuSign Tower on Third Avenue — the common denominator being that SEIU6 janitors work at each building.

SEIU6 janitors make on average about $45,000 a year, according to the union, prompting many janitors to take on multiple jobs to bridge the increasing gap between wages and rising costs of living.

“The struggle is real. … A lot of our members right now are having to just sacrifice everything,” said Zenia Javalera, SEIU6 president. “They’re working two to three jobs, they don’t get to spend time with their family.

“Our members are literally a paycheck away from being homeless right now.”

The janitorial sector of SEIU6 represents 4,000 members and usually renegotiates its contracts around every four years. This recent contract was extended by one year because of the pandemic.

Recent negotiations have been moving along, with the main concerns being wages and medical insurance, and it is not clear whether a strike will occur.

“Right now, we have a good contract overall,” Javalera said. “Our members do not clean toilets because of the great wages that they’re making. It’s really because of the great quality health care that we have.”

Javalera, 36, said employers initially offered a raise of only 15 cents an hour during bargaining, but have since improved their offer.

“We have seen the disrespect of starting off with 15 cents, but the table is moving,” Javalera said. “We are not asking for a handout. We are asking for a hand up.”

With a majority of the janitors working at night, if a strike were to occur, they would all walk off the job during that time.

After SEIU6 announced its intention to strike last month, the Martin Luther King, Jr. County Labor Council executive board authorized a strike sanction. If a contract is not agreed to by the end of June, it “will trigger labor stoppages for other sectors, including delivery and sanitation services,” the SEIU6 statement said. That means other unions have agreed not to cross the picket line and to avoid locations that are striking.

King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay and state Rep. Mia Gregerson, D-SeaTac, were in attendance showing their support for the union.

On the bargaining committee is Amir Kalabic, 58; this is his fourth contract. For 18 years he has worked at the Amazon campus alongside his wife. Kalabic, an immigrant from Bosnia-Herzegovina, now works two additional jobs alongside his janitorial work.

“We have never thought about a strike more than this year,” Kalabic said Friday. “They don’t see us as human.”

Kalabic and his wife each make “a little bit over” $45,000 annually doing janitorial work.

“The rent is so high; gas, food, everything’s going up,” said Kalabic. “I don’t know what will happen when I get to retirement.”

The SEIU6 union is diverse, with members speaking 30 languages. Most members are immigrants, refugees or people of color, according to Javalera.

“We feel that being able to have a good contract is also a racial issue, because our members are left at the bottom,” Javalera said. “We need to make sure that we’re picking them up in a way where it’s dignified.”

Full-family medical insurance, which is currently 100% employer-paid at no cost to the workers, is under threat in the new contract.

For Anthony Simpson, 55, whose 5-year-old just got his tonsils removed, this is a major concern. With his current company insurance, the surgery was completely covered.

“They are trying to eliminate it and make us pay for that,” Simpson said.

Simpson is on the bargaining team and has been working in the janitorial business since he moved to Seattle 10 years ago. Currently, he works night shifts for ABM.

“If the owners were to ever come out in the buildings at night … and see what the night people do,” Simpson said, they would see workers “deserve everything they’re bargaining for.”