Workers and community allies showed up bright and early at 5:30am for the picket line with retail janitors on an unfair labor practices strike, calling on contracted companies that clean Target and other stores to guarantee fair wages and the right to organize without fear of retaliation.
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Workers came out in force:
“My name is Enrique Barcenas, and I work for Prestige Maintenance USA cleaning a Target store in Apple Valley. The only way we can win what we deserve is to fight together. I used to be scared to fight. I felt alone. Now I know I am not alone, I am supported by many coworkers and thousands of other supporters.”
“My name is Leroy Graham and I work for Diversified Maintenance cleaning a Target store. We are making very low wages and we don’t have a voice on the job. So many of us have to struggle to survive. Many have to have two jobs to do it. This just creates more anxiety, depression, sickness and that’s not healthy. There is a system behind all of this. And if you need to have two jobs to survive, then something is wrong with that system. As long as we don’t have a voice on the job, nothing will ever get better. If you don’t say something, they will always think its ok to treat us this way. I am fighting so we can have a voice, so that we can pursue a better future. To have everyone come together under the same fight to earn a better life with better wages. We can’t go backwards and forwards at the same time. This system has gone backwards for long enough with less wages and more work. We need to go forward! Everyone needs to have a voice to be able to make our jobs better. That’s what we are fighting for this Black Friday.”
Lourdes, Eurest Services, cleans a Kohl’s store
Left: Luis Acosta, Carlson Building Maintenance, cleans a Target store; Right: Luciano Balbuena, Eurest Services, cleans a Home Depot store
Maricela Flores, Carlson Building Maintenance, cleans a Target store
And as the day went on, more and more people joined us, old friends and new…
Matt Gladhue, former Executive Director of Workers Interfaith Network (WIN), the organization that started CTUL
Sister Mary White, who was on the Board of WIN
Mpls City Council Member Elizabeth Glidden
Minnesota Representative Raymond Dehn
Mpls City Council Member Alondra Cano
A few more pictures from the picket…
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