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Hialeah Councilmember Angela Pacheco and State Senator Annette Taddeo joined hundreds of janitors as they voted to authorize a strike, with the potential to disrupt cleaning services for over 77% percent of the office buildings in downtown Miami and Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, February 21. The current union contract, which covers mostly immigrant women, expires on February 29. If negotiations between the janitors’ union, 32BJ SEIU, and major cleaning companies don’t yield a fair contract, the bargaining committee can call a strike of 1,500 cleaners at any moment after its expiration. Immediately after the vote, the workers and allies poured out onto the street and marched through Downtown Miami. Click HERE for PICS and VIDEOS.
Despite benefiting from South Florida’s booming commercial real estate market—the 6th most expensive in the country—employers have offered insulting wage increases of 50 cents an hour in the first three years of the contract, with an even more paltry 25 cents in the fourth year. They also rejected the union’s proposal to create additional full-time hours for the majority part-time workforce, as well as proposals for additional paid holidays and paid time off.
“Fifty cents won’t buy me a cup of coffee, much less allow me to support my family,” says Vanesa Gandara, a part-time janitor who works 12-hour days at multiple jobs. “I leave early in the morning and don’t come back until after my kids are asleep. I’ve missed out on birthdays and family celebrations because I’m always working. We don’t want to strike, but as mothers, we will do what it takes to win a fair contract that allows us to provide for our families.”
“No one wants to strike, but we are ready to do whatever it takes if cleaners are denied access to full-time hours for a full paycheck,” said 32BJ President Manny Pastreich. “Miami’s commercial real estate market is one of the most expensive and profitable in the nation, yet the cleaners in those buildings are paid the lowest. We need to make sure when the economic tide rises in Miami, it brings along all boats, including working families, local business, and communities.”
32BJ SEIU janitors clean and maintain 59 million square feet of commercial office space in Miami Dade and Broward counties. Landmark buildings include the Miami Tower, Miami Central, Brickell City Tower, One Biscayne Tower, Broward Financial Center, Wells Fargo Center, Southeast Financial Center, and the Las Olas City Center. They sanitize bathrooms, mop floors, take out the trash, disinfect stair rails, and keep lobbies looking sparkling clean for banks, financial service institutions, law firms, and Carnival Cruise’s headquarters, among other companies.
“No one wants to strike, but we are ready to do whatever it takes if cleaners are denied access to full-time hours for a full paycheck,” said 32BJ President Manny Pastreich. “Miami’s commercial real estate market is one of the most expensive and profitable in the nation, yet the cleaners in those buildings are paid the lowest. This benefits only the wealthiest few, while shortchanging not just working families but the local business and communities of that extra spending power.”
Under the existing agreement, part-time janitors, who make up 80% of the workforce, earn starting wages of just $13.00 an hour with 5 vacation days and 1 paid holiday. Full-time cleaners earn starting wages of $13.50 an hour, with 5 additional paid holidays.
The janitors are fighting for a fair contract with full-time hours and a full paycheck, with lifesaving benefits such as meaningful paid time off, so they can take care of themselves and their families.
Background:
A new report by 32BJ SEIU shows that Miami janitors are the lowest paid among major metro areas, when adjusted for cost of living. Meanwhile, Miami’s commercial real estate industry has seen explosive growth, surpassing Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles as the 6th most expensive office in the country.
While wages and working conditions have improved for South Florida janitors since they first unionized in 2019 with 32BJ SEIU, actual earnings have stagnated due to skyrocketing housing costs and record inflation.
While other cities have experienced record commercial vacancy rates, South Florida’s real estate sector thrived during and after the pandemic. It is now the 6th most expensive office market in the US, surpassing Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
The industry is estimated to collect a whopping $3.5 billion in rents from Q3 of 2023 to Q4 of this year. Meanwhile, wages for the workers who are crucial to these profits, represents just 0.57% of the building owners’ rental income.
Other key findings in the report show:
- South Florida janitors are overwhelmingly immigrant and women of color—97% of janitors surveyed are Hispanic/Latino, 98% are foreign-born, 71% are female, and nearly 90% are 40 years or older.
- 79% of janitors work part time, and have few, if any benefits.
- Real earnings for janitors have stagnated due to out-of-control housing costs and inflation.
- Miami-Dade County saw a 74% surge in median rents for a two-bedroom apartment since the pandemic.
- South Florida’s inflation rate is 6.9%, more than double the national inflation rate of 3.2%.
