Silicon Valley janitors set to strike

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/17/BAON10OHJK.DTL

Christopher Heredia, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Janitors who clean offices in Silicon Valley and Alameda and Contra Costa counties voted Saturday to authorize a strike after contract talks with management representatives broke down over wages and health benefits.

San Francisco offices - whose janitors operate under a different union contract - are not affected.

As many as 6,000 janitorial workers, members of Service Employees International Union Local 1877, could go out on strike at any time after Saturday's nearly unanimous vote in San Jose, Gina Bowers, a spokeswoman for the union, said.

About 1,000 union members participated in Saturday's vote, an "overwhelming" majority holding up red cards to indicate their support for the decision to strike, Bowers said.

The janitors and their union leaders have locked horns with cleaning contractors over wages and health benefits. The janitors voted to authorize the union's bargaining committee to call a strike after negotiators for contractors that provide cleaning service to office buildings offered their "last, best and final" offer on Thursday, which union officials said makes it hard for janitors and their families to make ends meet.

"They could strike any time," Bowers said, referring to the janitors. She declined to specify when the strike could commence. Asked whether an 11th-hour agreement is possible, Bowers said yes, but that it appeared unlikely.

FULL story at link.