Maintenance workers are laboring overtime to get various repair and construction jobs done before school starts back on Monday.

During this month’s regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting, Maintenance Director Garvin Trinks reviewed the different jobs on which his crew is currently working.

One of those jobs is the McDowell High School roofing project, which has been ongoing over the summer.

More at source: Mcdonnell News

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. undefined More and more employees at a Winston-Salem business are coming forward about not getting paid.

The owners of the locally owned and operated Maid Brigade in Winston-Salem are accused of writing bad pay checks to their employees, going weeks without paying them.

Cliff and Marie Keith, owners of the cleaning company, would not comment on the accusation when they returned to their office late Monday night.

“It comes a point when it gets ridicules,” said Michelle Hairston one of the latest former employees to come forward.

Hairston said she resigned after several red flags including the owners never taking her information for tax purposes. She said she also questioned why she and others were made to work some days for 15 hours.

More at source: Fox News  ( including video )

One business is returning to its Beloit roots thanks to the efforts of a band of brothers.

Robert Whitley Jr., Ron Whitley and Ricky Whitley are resurrecting the commercial cleaning business their parents, Helen and the late Robert Whitley Sr., started back in 1968. 

Robert Whitley Sr. started Father and Sons Cleaning as a side business while he was a custodian at Waterman School in Beloit. His entrepreneurial spirit drove the business to eventually employ 15 and support his family. In its heyday, clients included the Besley Corporation, First National Bank, M&I Bank, PepsiCo, Alliant Energy, Durst, the Rock County and Winnebago County courthouses, as well as the Beloit Public Library. 

More at source: Beloit Daily News

EVERETT - At the core of his business, 21-year-old Everett resident Gerrett Moreton operates on the same principles and values that any budding entrepreneur must follow to achieve success.

He has committed himself to offering his customers the highest quality product and service possible at an affordable cost. It’s just a universal rule that must be followed in order to turn a buck. It applies to anyone, from lemonade stand moguls, or in Moreton’s case, an expert gravestone cleaner.

More at source: Simcoe

The month-long janitors' strike in Houston, Texas concluded Saturday with janitors approving a new agreement between the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and several major cleaning contractorsundefinedABM Janitorial Services, GCA Services, ISS Facility Services, and Pritchardundefinedwho employ them to clean the office buildings of numerous large corporations.

About 400 janitors, members of the Service Employees' International Union (SEIU), voted to accept the deal. They have been without a contract since May 31.

More at source: WSWS

A janitorial company working in a Missoula nursing home has been cited with almost $60,000 worth of safety violations after exposing workers to multiple hazards, including failure to provide hepatitis B exposure prevention training to employees.

Healthcare Services Group Inc. was issued five citations Aug. 7 from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration after inspections were opened in May at the Missoula Health and Rehabilitation Center.

More at source: Missoulian

Salazar said Torres didn’t demand one but any jobs adding up to $3,000 as promised. Salazar said, “She never got those offers, nothing even close. It’s misleading and she’s not alone.”

The franchise regional manager told Salazar “I want Maria to be successful. To want to help Maria. I don’t want to have an adversarial relationship.” Salazar said none of the franchise buyers received refunds.

More at source: WOWT NBC

TOLEDO -- Developmentally disabled workers have replaced janitorial employees at a state-owned building in northern Ohio under a contract reorganization by the state.

The state Department of Administrative Services started the changes with One Government Center in Toledo but said it also will be arranging janitorial staffing for buildings it oversees in Cleveland, Akron, and Columbus, The Blade reported.

More at source: Newark Advocate

Alice McAfee has worked as a janitor for nearly 30 years. She has seen a lot of changes in the industry, she says, but not for the better. Her work has become harder, her hours have been cut and her wages have not kept up with inflation.

McAfee has joined more than 400 other Houston janitorial workers in protests over their working conditions. They are asking for a wage increase, from $8.35 an hour to $10 an hour, to be implemented over a three-year period.

More at source: Texas Tribune

The issue of market share, coupled with a contract provision that allows the seven union contractors to pay less than union-negotiated wages if they're bidding against a nonunion contractor, is at the forefront of the negotiations that started again Thursday to try to resolve a contract dispute that has resulting in demonstrations, arrests and spot strikes.

The 3,200 janitors, whose last contract ended May 31, are seeking a raise from $8.35 to $10 an hour.

More at source: Chron.com