Three Thousand San Francisco Janitors Prepare for a Strike

http://truth-out.org/news/item/10816-three-thousand-san-francisco-janitors-prepare-for-a-strike

Friday, 10 August 2012 09:25 By David Bacon, Truthout | Report

San Francisco, California - The national confrontation between janitors and some of the world's richest property owners has arrived in San Francisco where, on Wednesday, over two thousand building cleaners shut down the city's main artery, Market Street, in a huge march. Later, twenty-seven workers and supporters were arrested in a financial district intersection as they blocked it in an act of civil disobedience.



Among the many banners carried by the marchers, by far the most common was one that said, "We Are Ready to Strike the 1%." It clearly summed up workers' anger, which made this march even larger than one three days earlier and others organized during the weeks prior.

Man with Yellow Banner.(Photos by David Bacon)A strike is on the near horizon in San Francisco, according to Olga Miranda, president of Service Employees Local 87, one of the oldest janitors' unions in the country. "Our members are determined to go on strike and we've already called for a strike vote," she shouted over the chants of marchers. "They're telling us the union must lead and going on strike is our recommendation."



The local already took a vote to authorize a strike when its contract expired on July 31 with the city's main building service employers, Able Building Maintenance, American Building Maintenance and the San Francisco Contractors Association. That was fine with janitor Mohamed Ismael, who said, "A strike is possible. We don't like to go on strike, but if they don't make a reasonable proposal, if they tell us this is what you're going to get, if we go to the end of the line, then it's better for us to go on strike."

FULL story at link.