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Members of SEIU Local 26 gather at a member meeting on Jan. 23. The union has set a strike authorization vote for Sat., Jan. 30.
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Janitors' union sets strike authorization vote
UPDATED January 25, 2010, 12:52pm
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By Gregory J. Scott
After two full weeks of working without a contract, a union representing more than 4,000 Twin Cities janitors decided Jan. 23 to plan a strike authorization vote over unfair labor practices. The vote is expected to take place on Saturday, the day of the union’s next member meeting.
SEIU Local 26 — Minnesota’s Property Services Union, which represents security officers and window cleaners in addition to janitors — had arranged for two additional weeks of negotiations at the end of last year, pushing the final deadline for a new contract to Jan. 8. That deadline came and went, with both sides no closer to an agreement. At a member meeting the following day, the union voted to set another two-week deadline “for companies to get serious,” SEIU Local 26 President Javier Morillo-Alicea said. That deadline expired Jan. 22, which led to the decision to set a strike authorization vote. “Honestly, I’m surprised by just how little movement there is, period,” Morillo-Alicea said after the Jan. 9 meeting. “It’s a complete refusal to engage. None of the principal issues have even been addressed by the companies.”
“It is unfortunate that the companies have responded by bargaining in bad faith and have pushed us into a public dispute that we sought to avoid,” Morillo-Alicea said in a statement released over the weekend.
Union spokesman David Zaffran said the union is pushing to bring environmentally friendly innovations to the industry while at the same time ensuring good full-time jobs for its members. A transition to day-shift cleaning is a central proposal, which the union says could save building owners up to 8 percent on energy costs annually. Currently, janitors work mostly second shift, causing buildings to leave their lights on long after day-time employees have left. The Minneapolis-based Blue Green Alliance, a national partnership of labor unions and environmental organizations dedicated to growing jobs in the green economy, will release a report on Tuesday highlighting the economic and environmental benefits of day-shift cleaning. The report will be released during a 11:30 a.m. presentation on the skyway level of the Hennepin County Government Center, a building that recently switched to day-shift cleaning.
Reduction of janitors’ hours also has been a concern. Zaffrann said that many shifts have been cut from eight hours to six hours per night, translating to a 25 percent decrease in income. Under the current contract, a 30-hour week is considered full-time, and all of the large Downtown office towers — which together total more than 500,000 square feet — are required to offer 100 percent full-time positions.
The employers’ proposal would eliminate any restrictions on what jobs have to be full time, Zaffrann said. The leading building maintenance companies, in a statement released this weekend, have accused SEIU Local 26 of issuing "inaccurate public statements mischaracterizing the companies' proposals."
In the same statement, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Contract Cleaners Association called the unions proposals "simply unrealistic."
"First, these janitors are paid significantly higher wages and benefits than their counterparts in other major Midwestern cities. Second, their compensation package includes excellent health care coverage for which they pay less than 6 percent of the costs. Third, the union proposed un-affordably high pay increases in excess of 15 percent and other significant benefit changes, including, for example, a 44 percent increase in the companies' contributions to family health care coverage. These proposals are simply unrealistic given the current economic environment, which remains extremely challenging. This is especially true for our local real estate market, which has historically high vacancy rates."
The two sides will continue negotiations under the auspices of a federal mediator later this week.
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Carmichael Lynch drops Harley account
UPDATED August 30, 2010, 2:29pm
By Gregory J. Scott
When it comes to selling muscle bikes, three decades is enough. Downtown advertising agency Carmichael Lynch announced August 23 that it was resigning from its Harley-Davidson account, ending a relationship of 31 years with the iconic motorcycle brand. In a prepared statement, Doug Spong, president of Carmichael Lynch, said, "Our agency leadership came to the consensus that we've taken the Harley-Davidson brand as far as we can. It's in our best interest to part ways." Mark-Hans Richer, Harley’s CMO, said, "Our strategies have been moving away from a singular consumer target and a one-size-fits-all agency solution. Rather than accept this new reality, Carmichael Lynch chose a different path and we respect that." The
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Community notebook :: Florence Court apartments
By Gregory J. Scott
1 Comment
At Florence Court, new apartments up, courtyard staysThe mid-August groundbreaking came and went quietly for the FloCo Fusion Apartments, a chic rebranding of a ramshackle cluster of student housing near the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus. Despite years of resistance from current residents, the new building is officially going up, fanfare or no. Florence Court, as the community used to be called, is one of the oldest apartment buildings in the Midwest, dating back to 1886. The L-shaped structure sits at the intersection of 10th Avenue SE and University Avenue, but is tucked back from the street, hidden until recently behind a BP gas station. The 33-unit complex surrounds a leafy courtyard, which its residents — a colorful
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Watching out for the homeless
By Sarah McKenzie
// Volunteer outreach worker Jerry Fleischaker honored with prestigious McKnight award //After Jerry Fleischaker’s wife died of Alzheimer’s disease, he came across a newspaper article about St. Stephen’s Human Services’ work reaching out to homeless people with mental health issues. The story inspired him to start volunteering for St. Stephen’s. Now the 79-year-old retired pharmaceutical sales representative volunteers full time for the Downtown-based organization. “My wife died of Alzheimer’s in 2002. I saw the care she needed,” Fleischaker told Monica Nilsson, director of street outreach and community education for St. Stephen’s. “I was haunted by the thought that people might be
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Downtown visioning session looks to 2025
By jake weyer
// Whether to add a park north of Central Library will be part of the discussion, meant to produce a 15-year plan for Downtown //It’s been nearly 15 years since Downtown business leaders got together with city staff and elected officials to hash out a long-term plan for the area. Back in 1996, those stakeholders came up with Downtown 2010, a vision that included such grandiose plans as a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins, a light rail line along Hiawatha Avenue, a new Central Library, completion of the Target Center and the development of the Downtown Improvement District — all realities today. “We’re standing now, planless,” said Sam Grabarski, president of the Downtown Council. “And a lot of good
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A mountain out of a bronze molehill?
By Gregory J. Scott
// The Sid Hartman statue stirs debate about public memorials Downtown //
OK, no one disputes that the guy deserves a statue. Sid Hartman, the nonagenarian sportswriter who has spent the last 65 years reporting for the Star Tribune and WCCO, is probably getting bronzed. The Department of Public Works is ironing out technical details for installing a metallic Sid replica, complete with TV reporter microphone and newspaper tucked under the arm, right outside of Target Center and a block from the Twins stadium, at the corner of 6th Street and 1st Avenue. The Public Works assessment is the final stage in a roughly six-week approval process to get the statue out into the public. No one’s upset about that. As Nick Legeros, the artist who designed
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Biz buzz :: Construction costing Elliot Park businesses
By Gregory J. Scott
1 Comment
For Elliot Park businesses, street improvements come with a price
True to its motto, Band Box Diner can turn “grease into a feast.” But the Elliot Park gem can’t make much out of the road construction that’s transformed its streetscape into a scarred industrial zone.
The throw-back diner is one of the businesses standing to benefit from a sweeping, 15-block reconstruction of Chicago Avenue South — if only it can survive through to the project’s completion.
“It’s kind of like, if you have a half hour for lunch, and then you get lost for 45 minutes, what are you gonna do?” says Brad Ptacek, who has operated the diner for the last 13 years.
Ptacek’s breakfast
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