Hundreds of Janitors to March for Fair Pay for Contracted Cleaners at WeWork
The contracted janitors cleaning WeWork’s offices to march in NYC to demand fair pay and respect as office cleaners in Boston, Washington DC and Miami to launch solidarity campaign
New York – July 1, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Scores of WeWork contracted cleaners, supportive office cleaners and City Council members will march in the Financial District on Wednesday to tell WeWork founders Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey to hire a responsible cleaning contractor that pays fair wages that meet the industry standard. Office cleaners up and down the East Coast will also launch solidarity campaigns on Wednesday.
New York Action:
WHO: Janitors who clean offices at WeWork sites across the city; office cleaners from surrounding buildings; elected officials
WHAT: March for Good Cleaning Jobs at WeWork
WHEN: Wednesday, July 1 at 3 pm
WHERE: March starts at Fulton Center @ Broadway. From there participants will march to the Charging Bull statue at Bowling Green.
Other East Coast Actions on July 1: Leafletting at opening day of WeWork Miami at 350 Lincoln Road; Leafletting at WeWork Boston; Leafletting at WeWork DC
WHY: The campaign for good jobs for contracted cleaners at WeWork is expanding up and down the East Coast. As the workers in New York fight to get the good pay that is the standard for office cleaners in New York City, cleaners in other cities are joining the fight in solidarity. To clean its swanky New York offices, WeWork has hired a cleaning contractor that pays its workers as little as $10 an hour and few if any meaningful benefits. But the hip start-up, which is reportedly valued at $10 billion by investors, is lagging behind other major renters and owners of similar office space whose cleaners make more than $23 an hour with full family health care and retirement benefits.
WeWork often touts its commitment to its “community” of members but so far they haven’t recognized the contracted cleaners as part of their community. The cleaners are standing up to say that they’re not invisible because “We Work Here Too.”
While WeWork executives haven’t publicly responded to the cleaners demands, in a recent meeting with cleaning contractor Commercial Building Maintenance Corp. (CBM), a WeWork executive said more than 100 cleaners at the coworking start-up’s New York City offices should all be fired for organizing a union. The executive’s comments are not only heartless and unfair, they also violate federal labor law. The National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency, is currently investigating this incident.
Despite the threats and fears for their jobs, the cleaners are continuing their campaign and are getting support from other cleaners in New York City and elected officials who will march with them on Wednesday.
They have launched a petition where tenants can show support for the cleaners atwww.weworkheretoo.org
With more than 145,000 members including 70,000 in New York City, 32BJ is the largest property service workers union in the country.
Contact
Rachel Cohen, ; Cell: 917-370-8464