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Mayor Jackson backs Justice for Janitors fight at Contract Kickoff Event

The campaign for the best downtown Cleveland Contract to date kicked off with the Contract Convention on Saturday, April 8 with two hundred janitors packed into the Local 3 Union Hall.  The Cleveland Janitors spoke about the importance of being in a Union, improving wages, strengthening pension and protecting healthcare. Janitors from Detroit, Pittsburgh and Toledo came to support Cleveland and to begin their own campaigns for contracts that expire later this year.

Mayor Frank Jackson came to thank the janitors for their support in his election and pledged to help them raise standards for service sector jobs.  Members of Cleveland's City Council, representatives of the faith community and ACORN also came to show support.

City Director Anton Farmby told the story of the nation-wide Justice for Janitors fight.  The Cleveland Janitors are a new chapter in that fight for jobs that can support families.  He stressed the importance of the Tower City janitor's fight to join the Union and that their victory makes us all stronger. President Pete Hanrahan added that in order to achieve the goals of this campaign, people have to be willing to fight to win them.