CTUL HEADS TO BON-TON SHAREHOLDERS MEETING
CTUL leaders are heading to York, PA to the Bon-Ton Shareholders Meeting once again this year to educate shareholders on the poor working conditions they face cleaning Herberger’s stores in the Twin Cities and to call on Herberger’s to adopt a responsible contractor policy.
Last year, Leticia Zuniga, a leader with CTUL and retail janitor attended the meeting and spoke with Bon-Ton executives.
“We went to York, Pennsylvania to the annual shareholder’s meeting of Bon-Ton Corporation, which runs Herberger’s brand stores in Minnesota. We spoke to the CEO and a vice president and talked to them about the problems we’ve had with Capital, the cleaning contractor that cleans Herberger’s stores, and the company that I work for. They committed to establish a responsible contractor policy, and we are now working with the company the move that forward. I feel happy because this will make the difference in many workers’ lives — not just mine. This opens a path to better wages and respect on the job. That’s the reason why we do all that we do,” Leticia Zuniga, retail janitor and CTUL member.
One year later, they still have not implemented a Responsible Contractor Policy.
Herberger’s is using the “Trump business model” by contracting with a janitorial company that has been sued for violating workers’ rights, has occasionally stolen employees’ wages and has taken advantage of immigrant workers. Herberger’s has not taken the steps to ensure that the companies with which it contracts protect the rights and wages of workers. Janitors have been organizing and going on strike against Herberger’s janitorial subcontractor, Capital Building Services Group, demanding better treatment.
Two years ago they took Capital to court in a class action lawsuit over wage theft, where the janitors who were making as little as $4 or $5 an hour cleaning many Herberger’s stores. The court ordered Capital to return the wages it had stolen. In total, Capital had to pay back $425,000 in a settlement for stolen wages.
These working conditions impact people like Leticia and her family and we are saying enough is enough.