Thread: There goes cheap labor

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/a...ors_turn_t.php
Janitors Turn Temple Street Purple

by Paul Bass | June 13, 2006 10:41 PM | Permalink

Paul Bass Photo Hundreds of janitors from throughout Connecticut turned downtown into a boisterous sea of purple Tuesday afternoon to demand a living wage for the Latino immigrants who clean New Haven's office buildings.

Wearing purple "Janitors for Justice T shirts," banging empty buckets and purple inflated plastic "ThunderStix," the crowd marched in support of a union organizing drive at 45 area buildings covering more than 10 million square feet of commercial space. The drive is aimed at 400 non-union workers like Cristina Mendez (center). Mendez, 24, comes from Mexico; she said she earns $7.40 with no health benefits cleaning a building at Science Park. She marched up Church Street alongside Elvia Saavedra. Mendez earns the typical wage hourly wage for a New Haven janitor; few receive benefits, paid holidays or sick days.

Local 32BJ of the SEIU quietly opened a downtown office a few months ago to launch the drive, and has built support among the largely Spanish-speaking custodians. It won similar drives in Hartford and Fairfield County, where unionized janitors now earn $10 or $11 an hour plus health benefits and vacations. The union hopes to get as many cleaning contractors from local buildings as possible by July 1 to agree to card-check elections. "The people who clean the office buildings in New Haven -- they don't stand alone!" 32BJ Secretary Treasurer Hector Figueroa (pictured) told the crowd assembled on the upper Green before the march down Temple Street, over to Crown, then back up Church to City Hall.

Lending their support Tuesday were local Latino ministers who were active in helping unions in battles against Yale University and Yale-New Haven Hospital, like Rev. Jose Champagne, one of the city's fieriest political orators. "We have won many struggles in New Haven," Champagne declared. "This is one more we are going to win."

Six Omega Express coaches and two New Britain Transportation buses brought the custodians from Hartford, Stamford, and New York City to the rally, then parked in the right lane of Temple Street cutting through the Green.

Sara Pastorelli (pictured center), a Peruvian-born custodian who works at the Hartford Civic Center for a company called ABM (which also operates in the New Haven area), got in the spirit. She banged her ThunderStix to make noise when not using it to bop her friends on the head.

Politically, the day beonged to Mayor John DeStefano. He has backed the union drive from the start; the union has in turn backed his candidacy for governor. DeStefano declared Tuesday "Justice for Janitors Day" in New Haven. "Are fair wages and health benefits what America is all about?" he shouted from the steps of City Hall, the march's terminus. "Yes!" the crowd called on cue.

The reelection campaign of U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman was also visible at the rally. There were no visible signs of the campaign of Lieberman's challenger for the Democratic Party nomination, Ned Lamont, who has had trouble attracting support from organized labor.

Connecticut Attorney General Dick Blumenthal was, as always, a hit with the crowd. He unwittingly ended up holding a sign promoting an anti-Semitic political fringe group called ANSWER, which has helped hijack anti-Iraq War marches into obsessive hate-Israel and pro-Hamas events and barred Jewish war opponent Rabbi Michael Lerner from appearing on stage because he believes Israel has a right to exist.

Mendez, 24, comes from Mexico; she said she earns $7.40 with no health benefits cleaning a building at Science Park.

minimum wage is what $5.15 an hour? why should illegals be entitled to more than citizens? if they paid citizens a higher wage plus benefits, they would do the work too

did you see the back of the t-shirt?

"STANDING UP FOR THE
AMERICAN DREAM"

the NEW American Dream is to clean house -- clean America from illegal aliens and their supporters in the house and senate

I don't need an illegal alien to mow my grass, wash my clothes or dishes, clean my house and I sure as heck wouldn't want one taking care of an elderly relative if such a circumstance were to occur. The more entrenched in our society that illegals become, the greater the problem with dealing with their irrational demands.

few receive benefits, paid holidays or sick days.

Gee, my husband doesn't get any benefits. We rely on mine. I'm the one that gets all of the paid vacation and sick days. He gets nothing. He gets paid more than that lady does, but he's legal and has probably more education than she does.

They recieve little to no benefits? They want more than the minimum wage?
In Mexico they recieve far less than that, so they should be greatful and stop complaining.

I guess the employers are wishing they had never messed with "cheap labor"! Once people learn that they are "demanders", then you are nutz to hire them, no matter how cheap!!

What do you think will happen if they get amnesty, they will want even more money, benefits, social services, etc. There is no end to their demands that we american taxpayers will have to foot the bill for. We must stop this drain on our economy now, the heck with the employers who have been making money hand over fist for years by using this cheap labor.

I've always said that this is exactly what would happen. Now that the illegal aliens have stomped around in our streets, making DEMANDS, they have a "sense of security" and think that just because no one stopped them from doing their illegal acts, they can now make demands for more money, benefits, and everything else ENTITLED to LEGAL AMERICANS. Someone needs to burst their bubble! I hope ICE goes out in full force. They nabbed 2,100 this week and I hope they nab even more next week

We american citizens are going to keep the pressure on to stand up for our rights. These illegals have much to be in fear of as we are going to deport them, they are not getting amnesty or citizenship for sneaking into our country and costing us taxpayers millions while the poor, elderly and veterans in this country do not have enought to eat or appropriate medical care and housing. This government has got to be elected out of office as they no longer listen to the voice of the american people of whom they represent. We shall see at election time.

no amnesty for illegals
no amnesty for corporate America
no amnesty for Congress