14,000 city workers are union's next target

06:07 PM CST on Wednesday, November 30, 2005

By Jason Whitely / 11 News

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HOUSTON - For more than twenty years, Norma Rubio has made the same commute to her office building in downtown Houston. She is seldom seen, working mostly at night, but should she miss a day her absence would be obvious. Rubio is one of the 7,000 janitors who clean and maintain Houston offices.

KHOU-TV

After 21 years in the business, Norma Rubio's wage has only increased to $5.50.

She was also among the crowd gathered in the 2900 block of Louisiana in Midtown Wednesday afternoon. Under the trumpets of a mariachi band, you could feel a sense of excitement with Rubio in the room.

"We have won!," she exclaimed. The 63-year-old, who doesn't speak English, often stood in front of her second row seat during a host of speeches by dignitaries and fellow janitors. Rubio clapped while wearing wide a smile and a yellow rosary around her neck when it was announced that Houston janitors had organized into a labor union. They had worked more than a year to get here.

More than a hundred, including Rubio, kept erupting into a loud chant in front onlooking TV cameras. "Si Se Puede!," janitors shouted. In English it means "Yes we can."

Janitors are now a part of Service Employees International Union. SEIU claims more than 1.8 million members nationwide, including almost 250,000 janitors in 29 cities. SEIU recently surpassed Teamsters to become the largest labor organization in the country. But it said creating this chapter, which was dubbed, "Justice for Janitors" is among the largest ever organizing campaigns in a southern state.

A paramount reason for organizing was wages. Houston janitors are among the lowest paid in the country SEIU announced. Janitors in Philadelphia earn $13.31 an hour. Their colleagues in L.A. bring home $10.65 an hour. While Houston janitors make $5.50 an hour.

Rubio said she used to make $3.35 an hour. That was in 1983 when she moved here from El Salvador. In 21 years her wage has only increased $2.15. Plus, the union points out, most janitors in the city are part-time, and none have benefits like health insurance.

They hope organizing into a labor union changes that. SEIU said increasing the salaries of janitors could also have broader impacts on the city.

"It's a strain on the community," said Autumn Weintraub, an SEIU spokeswoman, "when you have people who only make $5.25 an hour that use the emergency room for healthcare. That have to wait in the packed emergency room for hours and hours and hours to get healthcare."

SEIU said it's already working to recruit thousands of other Houstonians. It has its sights set on the city next. SEIU told KHOU it is looking to recruit the 14,000 municipal employees.

"It's a hope for all workers here that if the janitors can do it other workers can do it as well," Weintraub said.

Rubio is excited about the future. "Things will change because we will have more hours," she said. "We will have better wages. I'm very thankful to God and the Union because all of our lives will be better."

Five thousand janitors will be able to join the new SEIU chapter. Their first order of business is negotiating a contract with the five companies who clean Houston office space. It's uncertain what kind of effect a labor union will have on business. Calls to three of the five companies went unanswered. But they reportedly said they may have to consider layoffs to accommodate for higher wages and benefits.

That's all part of negotiations, which will begin in the coming weeks.

Besides a pay raise, Rubio and others said, they want health insurance first.