In 2003, the Service Employees International Union brought its Justice for Janitors organizing campaign to Houston, eventually signing up 5,300 workers employed by janitorial service companies and scoring the first labor organizing victory in Houston in 25 years.

It was the first toe-hold in the South for the nation's second largest union, but came only after a bitter fight that included demonstrations, boycotts, blocked traffic, and pressured pension fund investors.

More at source: Houston Chronicle

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The janitors who clean the T and their supporters rally today against job cuts they say could leave the MBTA a mess. (SEIU)

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to cut one-third of the workforce that cleans the "T" stations in the Boston area as part of a plan to balance its budget. But janitors and their supporters will be out in force on Monday to stand against the cutbacks.

Cambridge Vice Mayor Marc McGovern said he'll be among those at the protest. He said the MBTA is taking a wrongheaded approach by killing jobs when the move would have such a small impact on the agency's budget problems.

"You know, actually I think it's outrageous that the MBTA is trying to balance their budget on the backs of their lowest-paid workers,” McGovern said.

The MBTA said it is confident that cleanliness will not be affected by the plan to cut 90 janitorial positions on September 1st. But the pending cuts will impact MBTA workers' ability to pay their bills and provide for their children, McGovern said.

More at source: Public News Service

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The St. Louis Better Business Bureau wants caution home and business owners to be aware of cleaning services.

BBB Regional Director Joey Keys says those hiring cleaning services have to remember that they are allowing somebody full access to their home. If they don’t know the cleaner or if the cleaning service hasn’t done a background check, consumers could be exposed to theft or property damage.

“If you aren’t around to supervise, you may not be able to tell how much work the cleaning crew actually did,” a BBB article says. “Give the cleaner a list of items or rooms to be cleaned and how expect it to be done.”

The article says to agree in advance on fees, and if the fee is hourly, be sure to agree on how many hours the service is to work.

More at source: The Southern

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Bill Muir was burning out as an operations manager for a beverage company and started looking for another career. When his brother-in-law used a handgun to kill himself, Muir decided to clean up his sister's place.

Her gratitude for his gesture of grit and kindness gave him an idea. Five months later, Muir became a crime-scene cleaner.

"I wanted to start helping people," he said one recent afternoon before fielding a call to clean up a homicide scene. "And seeing my sister's face after … I knew this is how I can help."

In starting Naperville-based Bio-One Chicago last year, Muir and his wife, Dawn, joined the ranks of a profession that blends the demeanors of a funeral home director and grief counselor with a construction contractor who has a strong stomach and intimate knowledge of biohazard disposal. It also is a largely unregulated profession experiencing steady growth, fueled by increasing fear of contamination and disease, and awareness that the services exist, experts say.

More at source: Chicago Tribune

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OSHA will look into complaints that some janitorial workers in the Bay State are being required to carry propane to and from work in their personal vehicles.

BOSTON -- An investigation into the grocery business in Massachusetts uncovered...

More at source: Public News Service

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Know your competition. 

DANBURY — Chris Morris has just opened a residential cleaning business, The Cleaning Authority, in Danbury, Conn. Tuesday, August 9, 2016.Words of advice from his grandfather helped lead Chris Morris down the road of entrepreneurship after he was laid off from his job in the financial services sector.

“Do a job that no one wants and do it with excellence and you’ll always have work,” Morris recalled his grandfather saying.

Morris last week opened a franchise of The Cleaning Authority, a residential cleaning service with more than 200 locations in the U.S. His 20-year career in financial services included roles with Master Card, American Express and Merrill Lynch.

“I was downsized and as I weighed my options I really wanted to be my own boss and not subject to the corporate whims of downsizing,” Morris said. “The cleaning business is not one I thought I’d pursue, but then I remembered what my grandfather said.”

Remaining in Danbury after losing his job was important to Morris as he has two children at Immaculate High School. He also wants to re-establish Western Connecticut Youth Sports, a nonprofit organization that offers sports instruction in a noncompetitive setting. He established the program in 2012 and it reached a peak of 200 coaches and players before not having a season in 2016 because of the uncertainty with his job situation.

More at source: News Times

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Justice 4 Jannies! "We are sure that parents will understand that it would be wrong for this unfairness to continue.

"Cordia has spent thousands of pounds every month since January 2016 trying to undermine our official boycott of the duties through the use of non-trade union replacement workers.

"They would be better getting round the table and sorting out our legitimate claim.”

Industrial action was first taken on January 19 when staff boycotted weeding, litter picking, snow clearing, salt spreading, leaf clearing, heavy lifting, spillage clearing and animal clearing.

The janitors began industrial action on 19 January 2016 by boycotting weeding, litter picking, snow clearing, salt spreading, leaf clearing, heavy lifting, spillage clearing and animal clearing.

Schools cleaners, catering staff, education support workers, teachers and headteachers were advised by their trade unions not to undertake the duties janitors are boycotting.

Since March, the janitors have taken nineteen days of strike action in an escalation of the dispute.

More at source: Herald Scotland

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Janitors wait outside of San Francisco’s city hall amid contract negotiations with their union representatives and cleaning companies that employ them on Wednesday, August 3, 2016. The workers received a pay raise, union officials said.

More at source: SF Gate

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SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - About one hundred of janitors from Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 87 are taking part in a march and rally in San Francisco Thursday to call on tech companies to give them a fair contract.

Around 5:37 p.m. San Francisco Police were seen by Sky Fox making arrests of protesters and had vans to place those arrested inside.

More at source: KTVU

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“It was the best way we could control it,” commission Chairman Cedric Johnson said. The cleaning crew “will probably have more pride, knowing they work for the airport.”

The transition will take several months and contracted staff will have the opportunity to apply for the new jobs, Johnson said.

The program has a budget of approximately $300,000 for labor, equipment and supplies, airport Executive Director Herbert Judon said.

More at source: Augusta Chronicle

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