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Centre City Tower
Report from Community Hearing
2/6/04

PURPOSE OF PANEL

The community hearing was chaired by Sylvia Wilson from the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, Local 400.  She announced that the purpose of the hearing was to gather all the facts about the nine Centre City Tower janitors who were forced out of their jobs and benefits during the holiday season late last year.  She then said that the panel would issue a report in the near future that would be released to the larger community.  The panel would also suggest possible courses of action.  Sylvia announced that Linda Fryz of Independence Management, the management company at Centre City Tower, was invited to attend the hearing but she declined to attend.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

For many years, family healthcare has been totally unaffordable for the downtown Pittsburgh janitors.  Last fall, the janitors negotiated a contract that provided affordable family healthcare for the first time in over ten years.  The whole Pittsburgh community — janitors, building owners, property managers, faith and labor communities, community organizations —came together to find this solution for the janitors' healthcare crisis.

Six weeks after the agreement was signed, one building apparently decided to try to avoid paying the increases for healthcare.  During the holidays, the nine janitors who clean Centre City Tower were told that they had one day to clean out their lockers and go home.  Many of these janitors have worked in the building for a long time.  The average seniority in the building is over eleven years.  One woman has cleaned in this building for 25 years and has worked for four different cleaning contractors.

The owners of the building are William Rainer and Ted Knetzger.  These two men are prominent members of the Democratic Party.  William Rainer was the Chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission under Bill Clinton and Ted Knetzger is a personal friend of Hillary Clinton's(?).  The mortgage to the building is held by Sky Bank, a new bank in Pittsburgh.  They are opening up a branch office on the first floor of the Centre City Tower.

According to an article in the City Paper, the new janitors who clean in the building now work only part-time, make minimum wage and have no healthcare benefits.  Independence Management's actions therefore have turned nine good paying jobs that can support families into low wage jobs without any benefits.

THE PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY RESPONDS

Five hundred janitors and community members rally at Mellon One this fall in support of affordable healthcare for the janitors.  Two weeks later, through the concerted efforts of the whole community, that goal was achieved.  Now, Centre City Tower has broken that deal.  What follows is a summary of the testimony given at the hearing describing the community's response to Centre City Tower's breaking their word.

CENTRE CITY TOWER JANITORS

At the hearing, three of the locked out janitors testified Anna Kinsey, Harriet Bryant and Tim Golling.  Anna has cleaned in the building almost since the day it was built.  Harriet has been there for six years and Tim for three.

The panel asked Anna to describe what happened, and she told how, on the day before New Year's Eve, they were given one day's notice to clean out their lockers.  All three were shocked at how little notice they had been given despite their long years of service.

Anna has been there the longest and has worked for four different contractors.  In response to several questions from the panel, Anna said that every other time the contractor changed, the janitors have been retained with their same seniority, pay and benefits.

The janitors also described to the panel how they were not even allowed to reapply for their jobs with the new cleaner.

When asked by the panel what it was like cleaning in Centre City Tower, the janitors told of the personal relationships that they have built up over their years in the building and how much they enjoyed working in the building.

All three of the janitors spoke of their concern about their healthcare.  They described how they were relieved to have settled the contract in the fall and to have reached an agreement that provided affordable healthcare.

With only an unemployment check coming in, many of the janitors are finding it difficult if not impossible to maintain their COBRA payment to keep their benefits.  This has been very stressful because some of the janitors have a real need for their healthcare coverage.  Tim Golling has had several surgeries on his foot.  One of the janitors who was not present at the hearing is expecting another child soon.

The janitors expressed their appreciation for the support they've received from the community and the tenants.

GABE MORGAN, BUILDING SERVICE DIRECTOR, SEIU LOCAL 3

Gabe Morgan, Building Service Director for SEIU Local 3, gave the panel an overview of the contract negotiations, the Union's perspective on the lockout of the janitors and the ramifications of Independence Management's actions.

The panel asked Gabe to describe who runs the building and who owns it.  He told them that Independence Management, the property manager for Centre City Tower is a member of the Managers, Owners and Contractors Association that signed the agreement in the fall.  MOCA signed the agreement on behalf of its members so Independence Management is legally bound by the contract.  Contract negotiations even took place in the building.

The owners of the building, Ted Knetzger and William Rainer, are prominent Democrats from Connecticut and Chicago respectively.  Gabe described attempts on the part of prominent leaders in Pittsburgh trying to reach out to them to find a solution.  The message was two-fold.  First, in Pittsburgh when we make a deal, we live by that deal.  Secondly, healthcare is a big issue for Democrats in this election year.  Democrats should be helping people get healthcare, not taking it away.

The panel asked Gabe what has been the response to the lock out of the community that was involved in this fall's campaign.  He told how the settlement in the fall that solved the healthcare crisis, at least temporarily, for the downtown janitors was clearly a case of the whole Pittsburgh community coming together to find a solution.  Gabe described how the actions of Rainer, Knetzger and Independence Management are an affront to the whole community that worked so hard in the fall.

Independence Management has said publicly that they were making a "business decision" when they forced the janitors out of their jobs.  Gabe made it clear that their actions are very unusual.  Gabe described to the panel how cleaning contractors change on a regular basis downtown, but under the terms of the contract that has been in place downtown for over 53 years, the new contractor takes on the building's janitors at their same rate of pay, building seniority and benefits.  Not since the strike of 1985 has there been an attack like this on the janitors' livelihood.

The panel also asked Gabe what effect this could have on the new agreement.  He told them that the Union is taking this situation very seriously because it truly does threaten the whole agreement.

Gabe also testified that Sky Bank, a new bank in town, is the main mortgage holder for the Centre City Tower.  Gabe described attempts on the part of community leaders to reach out to the leaders of Sky Bank as well.

LEGAL CASE AGAINST CENTRE CITY TOWERS

Evalynn Welling, a lawyer with the Community Law Project outlined for the panel the legal case against Centre City Tower.  There is a three count suit in federal court as well as two charges with the National Laborer Relations Board.

The federal suit is based on the fact that as a member of MOCA, Independence Management signed the contract and they are bound by it.  Consequently, by forcing the janitors out of their jobs and benefits, they have denied them their healthcare and pension.  This action is in violation of ERISA, the federal law that governs workers pensions and healthcare benefits.

The Labor Board charges focus on the fact that the janitors were not even allowed to apply for their jobs with the new cleaner.  This means that Independence Management and the new cleaning contractor discriminated against the janitors because of their Union membership.  This discrimination is illegal under United States labor law.

TENANTS

Tom Hollander, a tenant in the building, presented the tenant's perspective to the panel.  He testified that tenants were happy with the cleaning that was being done and they saw no need to change janitors.  He spoke highly of the value of having a stable workforce in the building and people that you could trust and that you knew.

When the panel asked him about the actions tenants have taken he told how tenants have signed petitions and offered financial assistance to the janitors who lost their jobs.

Tom then described how there are several foundations in the building, including one for which he is a board member, that were established to work on healthcare issues.  They have contacted Independence Management to voice their shock at being in a building that cuts people off from their healthcare.

A representative of Tenant Representation Associates, Inc., an organization that represents tenants in commercial real estate, testified that he had written to Independence Management pledging to inform his clients of Centre City Tower's "callousness in business dealings."

The tenants pledged to continue to work with the janitors to get them their jobs back as soon as possible.

THE LABOR AND RELIGION COALITION

The panel next took testimony from the four clergy members and Jack Shea who were arrested while trying to meet with the management of the building.  The panel asked them to describe what happened and Ken Love gave the following explanation.

When we went to the Centre City Tower that day to speak to the management personnel concerning the nine janitors who were fired, I did not expect the situation to develop so quickly.  Within a matter of minutes, the security guard had informed us that management would not meet with us and that is we did not leave he was ordered to call the police and have us arrested.  What immediately ran through my mind was that I is just a few days after Dr. Martin Luther King Mr.'s day.  Ho he wrote his letter from the Birmingham jail and charged the clergy of his day for not standing up with him publicly in support of civil rights.  The response back from the clergy was "It is not the right time, Martin.  Why can't you wait?" He said, it's been 400 years of slavery and oppression, how can you say it's not the right time.  What came to my mind then was the picture of a mother awakened in the middle of the night from her young child with a terrible ear infection and crying out in pain.  That poor mother had nothing to offer the child for pain relief and comfort except for her hugs.  I imagined what was running through her mind at the moment thinking how she couldn't go down to the drug store and buy the much needed pain relief medicine for her child, because she had no money left in her pockets because she instead chose to buy the child cereal for breakfast.  The heartache she must have felt.  That's the crime ladies and gentlemen of this body.  Here we are 40 years later after Dr. King's plea for civil rights and he was told, "Martin, it's not time yet!" How can we as the church today, as CEO's of corporate America and politicians tell that mother, "It's not time for national healthcare." For the cause of that poor mother and in the spirit of Dr. King, the only way I was going to leave that building that day was in handcuffs.

Father Jack O'Malley said every day we see the ongoing assault on working people - bakery workers and janitors most recently- and we are here to draw a line in the sand.  It stops here.  What this building has done is not only illegal, it is immoral as well.  We may be from different faiths, but all our traditions teach the dignity of work and the right of workers to be treated with dignity.  What Independence Management has done to the janitors in this building is just the opposite.

In this presidential year, we hear every day about the crisis in healthcare.  We hear how important jobs with living wages are.  These janitors have come too far and worked too hard to gain those things for themselves and their families.  We will not let them go back.

Several of the panel members remembered Fr. Don McIlvane from his days in the civil rights movement and they commended him for being a part of the fight for the jobs of the janitors.

Members of the Labor and Religion Coalition after the court hearing where the Centre City Tower Five were sentenced to do community service at the Consumer Healthcare Coalition that works to gain healthcare for Pennsylvania residents.  The Coalition is located in Centre City Tower.  (The judge said that she thought the five were doing community service by trying to meet with the Centre City Management)

CITY COUNCIL RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS 

City Councilman Sala Udin testified on behalf of the City Council.  The panel asked him why the council had passed the resolution and what it said.  Sala told how on January 27, he introduced a resolution into City Council that commended the people that got arrested at Centre City Tower, condemned the actions of Independence Management, and called for an end to the dispute.  He said that the vote for the resolution was unanimous.

At the hearing Councilman Sala Udin told how he was inspired to by the example of his mother who was a cleaner herself.  He said his mother did that work with dignity and respect and was able to raise Sala and his 11 brothers and sisters on that pay.  He felt a kinship with the janitors from Center City Tower and wanted the panel to know that the Council was ready to do anything they could to get the janitors back to work.

SUGGESTIONS OF ACTIONS

During the hearing and afterward, a number of suggestions were made by members of the panel and people that testified about possible actions by the panel.  The final report will include any further suggestions the panel has and discuss the possible strategies in depth.

 A public press conference announcing the report

 A concerted and organized campaign to spread the report as far as possible including a mailing to

• All city and county office holders
• State reps and senators
• Chamber of Commerce
• The owners and operators of the building
• Property managers and real estate companies that operate downtown

 Have representatives of the panel meet with tenants

 Develop ways to send message to owners of the building about the community's feelings on this issue

 Reach out to Sky Bank, the mortgage holder

 Because the owners of Centre City Tower are prominent Democrats, explore ways to reach out to leadership in the Democratic Party to contact the owners urging them to rehire the janitors

 Consider establishing an ad hoc coalition to coordinate the community's response to this situation