Echoing the story of David vs. Goliath, janitors in Houston are on strike and taking on such corporate giants as JPMorganChase and Exxon Mobile in an effort to pressure the janitorial companies they employ to agree to the workers' modest demands. It is these big business behemoths that are the real powers behind cleaning contractors such as ABM, GCA, ISS etc. By striking against these contractors, and publicly targeting these contractors' employers, the janitors are using their collective power in a showdown that has great significance for not only the Labor Movement but all workers.

The janitors are members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1, which has a membership of 3,200 in Houston. Currently, these workers' wages top out at $8.35 per hour. On average, they make under $9,000 a year. The government defines the poverty line as an income of $22,314 for a family of four and $11,139 for an individual.

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Commercial Janitorial, a full service cleaning company, announced today a major expansion into the nation’s number one commercial cleaning market in New York City. Company officials revealed that the expansion will include a new Manhattan sales office which will provide service all 5 boroughs throughout NYC.
The move is expected to be part of the company’s continued expansion into the East Coast cleaning markets including...

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Vacuum Cleaner Advisor has just released its annual list of the best stick vacuums. This year's list features models from Miele, Hoover, Bissell, Euro-Pro, Electrolux and Eureka.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the union, which represents 3,200 janitors in Houston, recently staged a sit-down in the middle of a downtown Houston intersection. Police arrested the 15 protesters who participated in the sit-down.

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As it tries to ramp up public pressure against cleaning companies, the union seeking a new contract for 3,200 Houston janitors is meeting impediments it didn't face six years ago when it won its first contract.

The Service Employees International Union has expanded impromptu strikes at the large office buildings its janitors clean. It also has disrupted meetings and has conducted traffic-blocking demonstrations that have led to 18 arrests as it seeks to increase what it calls "street heat" against business owners and cleaning contractors.

More at source: Chron.com

Maria claims she was promised $3,000 a month. Salazar went to the company to ask why wearing a Fact Finder’s hidden camera. A regional manager for the Omaha Stratus Franchise said, “We were directed by Maria not to call unless you have one account that does $3,000 a month period.”

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Back in the day, cleaning products used to sell on the strength of their chemical smells, but consumers are now demanding something closer to perfume in their toilet bowl cleaners and laundry detergents. Michael Papas, an executive perfumer at Givaudan SA, a company that creates scents for products, told the WSJ about the expectation for today’s cleaners: “At one time everyone wanted these clean, traditional scents, but now consumers want a whole experience when they're doing their laundry or washing their floors.” Yes, why endure the drudgery of scrubbing the splattered tomato sauce off the wall when you can instead pretend you are frolicking in the lemon groves of Amalfi?

Read more at the source: Slate

In a bust that gives new meaning to the term “white-collar crime,” authorities in suburban Washington, D.C., broke up a ring of thieves who bought stolen Tide laundry detergent and exported it for resale in Vietnam.

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The Company reported that this year's third quarter results included 5% organic sales growth over the prior year period (including the impact of changes in foreign currency rates, organic sales growth was 4%). Sales growth was due to increases in home improvement retail, automotive aftermarket, vehicle wash, industrial MRO, janitorial/sanitation and food processing. In addition, acquisitions provided incremental revenue gains compared to the same period last year.

More at source: Marketwatch

The recently laid-off janitors are angry because they were not rehired after the city awarded a new municipal janitorial contract to South Holland-based Dayspring Janitorial Service in early June.

The group hand delivered a letter to one of the mayor’s aides in which they claim the city “made a mistake” because Dayspring did not retain the original workforce and has instead hired on a new staff with slashed wages and benefits.

More at source: Progress Illinois