Cleaning workers who lost their jobs after the property’s $110 million sale.

The workers, some who helped keep the mall clean for more than a decade, lost their jobs when new owners Grass River Property and Federal Reality Investment Trust hired a new cleaning contractor, Coastal Building Maintenance.

Now the cleaners and their union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 32BJ, have filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.

“It’s illegal to discriminate against workers for belonging to a union,” said Ana Tinsly, communications specialist for SEIU Local 32BJ. “If they don’t want to collectively bargain with the workers or for whatever reason, to save money, etc., that’s the charge. We are still in the process of the investigation and filing the affidavit. I’m assuming it can take anywhere from a couple months to a year for something like this to be resolved.”

More at source: Miami Herald

When it comes to cleaning -- and cleaning fast --hotel housekeeping knows what's up. 

The above video lays out some pro tips we'd never heard of -- and ones we can't wait to try out. When used correctly, they'll turn your home into the likes of a hotel suite. For example: 

• Vacuum into the room, then out. That way, you'll hit high-traffic spots twice without re-tracing your steps.
• Do the bathroom last. You'll minimize transferring goo and bacteria to the rest of your space.
• A toothbrush is your greatest weapon. Use it on bathroom grout to zap dirt from nooks and crannies. 

Watch the video at the source Huffington Post for more. 

Find a cleaning service here. 

LASALLE, QC, Nov. 11, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc. (TSX: GDI) (the "Company" or "GDI"), is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of Ainsworth Inc. ("Ainsworth"), a subsidiary of CEDA International Corporation ("CEDA").

"To welcome Ainsworth to our family is a milestone event for GDI that significantly enhances our position in the market and our value proposition to clients," statedClaude Bigras, President and CEO of GDI. "Uniting GDI's leading cross-Canadacommercial janitorial services platform with Ainsworth's cross-Canada HVAC-R, mechanical, electrical and technical services business positions GDI as the only company in Canada capable of providing building owners and managers with a full range of core facility maintenance services. Together with Ainsworth, we are now able to offer our clients a complete suite of best in class outsourced services, a one-stop-shop for all of their facility maintenance needs."

Murray Leimert, President and COO of Ainsworth stated, "We are extremely excited about becoming part of the GDI family. Like GDI, Ainsworth's mission is to provide clients with consistently high quality services at the best available price-quality ratio, delivered through locally-based teams of dedicated employees. Together, GDI and Ainsworth are unique in Canada, able to provide a complete facility maintenance services solution at an attractive value proposition."

About GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc.

GDI is a leading commercial facility services provider which offers a range of services in Canada and the United States to owners and managers of a variety of facility types including office buildings, hotels, shopping centres, industrial facilities, healthcare establishments, distribution facilities, airports and other transportation facilities. GDI's commercial facility services capabilities include commercial janitorial, installation, maintenance and repair of HVAC-R, mechanical and electrical systems, as well as other complementary services such as damage restoration and janitorial products manufacturing and distribution. GDI's subordinate voting shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: GDI). Additional information on GDI can be found on its website at www.gdi.com.    

Forward-Looking Information

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Consequently, actual results and future events may differ materially from those anticipated by such statements. Readers should not rely unduly on such forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc.

A federal jury has awarded $650,000 to a Bulgarian janitor who was fired by a Bellevue businessman after being told he had to learn English or lose his job.

Yordan Petrov sued James D. Hebert and his wife, former King County Councilwoman Cynthia Sullivan, for discrimination, retaliation and withheld wages after he was summarily fired from Hebert Research after being ordered to take an English-as-a-second-language class after he’d been working for the company for five years without complaint.

The judgment, entered earlier this month after a four-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge James Robart in August, included $300,000 for state and federal retaliation claims, and $350,000 in punitive damages against Hebert and the company. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on discrimination claims alleged by Petrov.

“This is a very large judgment, particularly in a case involving a low-wage employee,” said Petrov’s attorney, Elizabeth Hanley.

More at source: Seattle Times

Find A Janitorial Service Here. 

A Pittsburgh union representing 1,000 commercial office cleaners reached an agreement Thursday with its management association, averting a strike just two days before the current contract was set to expire.

Bargaining between the two groups had been ongoing since Sept. 9, but the negotiations reached a tipping point Tuesday when members of the 32BJ local, a part of the Service Employees International Union, voted to strike if the sides failed to reach a deal by midnight Saturday. 

The union handles janitorial work throughout the region at locations that include the U.S. Steel Tower, Gateway Center, PNC Plaza and Bayer’s headquarters. They were negotiating with the Managers, Owners and Contractors Association for greater health care benefits and wage increases.

On Thursday, the two sides reached a four-year tentative agreement that includes “a fair wage increase and maintains benefits at their current level,” according to a statement released by the union. The deal, which is still subject to union ratification, would expire Oct. 31, 2019.

More at source: Post Gazette

College students may not be washing their hands properly, according to researchers who found that more than half of the students tested had large amounts of different types of bacteria on their hands.

The bacteria were linked to increased risks for infections, doctors’ visits, and absences from class or work.

Infectious diseases can be spread in many ways, but proper handwashing with soap and clean, running water is one of the most important steps that can be taken to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The authors of the new study note that college campuses are high-risk places for spreading infections. Students live in close proximity to one another and are in close contact.

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More info at: CDC

Goldschmied & Chiari, Where Are We Going to Dance Tonight?.
Photo: Museion, via Facebook.

A team of hardworking Italian cleaners thought they were tidying up after a particularly wild opening party on Friday night at Museion, Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art in Bolanzo, Italy. The 300 empty champagne bottles, confetti, and cigarette butts, however, were actually part of an installation by Milanese artists Goldschmied & Chiari.

The piece, titled Where Are We Going to Dance Tonight?, was inspired by the Italy of the 1980s, "a period characterized by consumerism, hedonism, by socialist politicians and their neverending parties," according to the museum website. Apparently the work was a little too convincing.

More at source: Art News

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Houston has never been a hotbed of organized labor. But for more than a decade, the Service Employees International Union has been locked in a fierce battle with a commercial cleaning company in Houston.

The union, which came to town more than a decade ago as part of its Justice for Janitors campaign, has been trying to get Professional Janitorial Service of Houston to recognize the union as the bargaining agent for its 1,400 janitors through a public card check process that bypasses secret ballot elections that employers typically prefer.

Along the way, there have been many loud rallies, a giant inflatable rat, dueling labor board allegations of illegal labor practices and a defamation lawsuit.

The latest salvo? The company has accused the union of trying to trash its reputation by providing what it believes to be forged signatures of PJS employees asking its customers to stop doing business with the cleaning company.

More info at source: Houston Chronicle

Anthony Lepore, John Rife, and Brian Domalik are charged with bribing Patrick Johnson, a Loganville resident, in exchange for favorable treatment by Jackson on contracts between their company and the two government entities.

“These defendants are charged with circumventing the government contracting process by bribing a corrupt public official who was willing to put his own interests above those of the taxpayers he served,” U.S. Attorney John Horn said in a news release. “This indictment reaches to the very top suites of the company, charging complicity in the bribery at the highest levels.”

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court included:

Anthony Lepore was the President and CEO of Rite Way Services, Inc., an Alabama based company that sought to do business with DeKalb and GWCC. Rife was the regional vice president, and Domalik, who came to work for the company in 2010, was the division manager, both working out of the Norcross, Ga., facility.

More at source: Georgia Patch

More at source: WGRZ