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Detroit Gears Up for June Contract Fight

Ever since Local 3 set foot in Detroit we have been fighting back.  It started with the Airport when 83 janitors were replaced with non-union cleaners.  The end of March will commemorate the year anniversary of our fight at the 1001 Woodward building.  Those long-time janitors were terminated with 2 days notice, only to have their jobs replaced with part-time jobs paying poverty wages without health care. 

These fights have made our Local stronger. They have won us many supporters in the community and have shown contractors just how far we are willing to go to protect our wage and benefit standards.

Detroit’s Master Janitorial Contract expires on June 30th.  We will be entering into negotiations as the auto and airline industries conduct massive lay-off’s and demand huge wage and benefit cuts from those lucky enough to still have a job.  Health care costs continue to skyrocket.  Non-union contractors in our industry continue to push wage levels down.  To win in these tough economic times we will need every member to show their support in the streets. 

Janitors are not only united by their issues, but by the companies they work for.  Working together to confront our common employers is a winning strategy.  Cliff Green, who works for Detroit Diesel and serves on Local 3’s Executive Board, puts it best: “The results of our contract will only be as strong as our ability to fight.  In order to win, we need as many janitors involved in this fight as possible.”

Local 3 will be officially kicking off its contract campaign in early June. Until then, we will be building a base of active members who will serve as a contract action team during the campaign.  Meetings will be held on a bi-weekly basis to help identify and train these members.