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Business and Economic News
Cari Spencer

Unionized janitors fear job losses as Ramsey County contracts with new companies

Protesters stand outside with a "Justice for Janitors" sign.
Carlos Garcia Velasco, a lead organizer with Center of Workers United in Struggle, and janitors with SEIU Local 26 and labor allies rally outside St. Paul City Hall on Monday. They want Ramsey County to drop new contracts with companies that do not have union agreements.
Cari Spencer | MPR News

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Unionized Twin Cities janitors successfully bargained for major wage raises and retirement benefits in March — part of a wave of spring labor wins. But now, several Ramsey County janitors are on deck to lose their jobs and the gains celebrated months earlier.

Starting Monday, Aug. 5, three companies that do not contract with the union will take on cleaning of county buildings — including PK Property Services, which faces wage theft allegations. The U.S. Department of Labor confirmed it’s investigating the company.

Triangle Services, the current SEIU Local 26 employer that was previously contracted to clean all county buildings, will be scaled down to one. 

The union said that means up to 20 workers — the majority of whom are immigrants and people of color — could be replaced at the buildings they used to maintain. Only custodians at the county’s Metro Square building know they will return to work when the new contract kicks in.

Most workers found out about their last day with Triangle earlier this month, said Brahim Kone, the union’s secretary-treasurer. They are unsure of what happens next, he said, and are pleading with county leaders to do something about it. 

“What makes me most nervous is the possibility of losing my job at this age in my life because the cost of rent is high, bills are high and I need my health insurance to pay for my medicine I take daily,” said Gladys Carasquillo, 66, at a recent board meeting.

She delivered her testimony in Spanish, which was translated with the help of another union member — but she was told to step down because the public hearing was for an unrelated ordinance.

“Without union health care I don’t know how I’m going to be able to pay the cost of my bills and I’m going to be forced to go on welfare,” she added. Carasquillo has cleaned for Ramsey County for the past decade.

Casper Hill, a spokesperson for Ramsey County, said the county’s property management division opted for multiple contractors instead of one to “ensure there would be backup in case any single contractor is unable to take care of a building.”

He said the county’s bid process allowed companies to propose cleaning one, some or all buildings — allowing smaller companies to receive a contract even if they don’t have the capacity to service every building.

Contracts were awarded to the four cheapest bidders, he said: Triangle Services, PK Property Services, Kimbal Services and Squeaky Cleaners.

SEIU Local 26 members and labor allies took issue with that at a press conference earlier this week — raising concerns about the reputation of some of those companies, including the allegations against PK Property Services.

A message left with that company was not immediately returned.

Kera Peterson, president of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, called the choice to shift away from a union employer after recent bargaining wins “a step backward.”

“We’ve been in those buildings one year, eight years, 10 years in one building, taking care of it. So just to kick us out and bring somebody else in, that’s inconsiderate,” said janitor Darrion Warr, after walking a petition to the county manager’s office urging the county to reconsider the contract. “They don’t care about who is cleaning the building, it’s how much less we can charge you to clean it.”

Warr said he’s been in janitorial work for 27 years and has been cleaning the Ramsey County Law Enforcement and Detention Center for the past year, waking up at 4 a.m. to do his job.

When he’s off work, people notice he’s gone, he said. Bathrooms and floors just aren’t as pristine.

“I’m very passionate about what I do for a living because cleaning — it ain’t what everybody wants to do, but somebody’s got to do it,” he said. “My mom raised me to be a clean person. I’ve decided to do it professionally and make it a career.”

Despite his dedication, he says he feels janitors are “always left in the clouds.” 

He’s not scheduled to return to work next week, he said, and is unsure of what will happen next.