Janatorial Strike in Silicon Valley
Janitors strike in front of Cisco Systems’ North San Jose campus demanding higher pay and better health care packages. The janitors from SEIU work by contract for various high-tech and other companies in Silicon Valley. ( Lisa Fernandez/Mercury News )
At least 100 janitors are walking the picket lines this morning at some of Silicon Valley’s largest high-tech companies - including Cisco Systems and Apple - in protest of a contract offer they are calling “totally unacceptable.” Contract talks for more than 6,000 janitors in Silicon Valley ended Friday with a “take it or leave it offer,” said Mike Garcia, president of the 28,000-member janitors’ union. The offer fell short of agreements the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1877 had reached in other parts of the state, Garcia said, and his members voted Saturday to reject it and go on strike. [Continue Reading…]
Also read “Silicon Valley Silhouette…booming or busting” written roughly a year back by our staff contributor. The situation then is pretty much the same for the unskilled, low-income labor. Amidst the exponentially rising cost of living, triggered most recently by energy prices, life here in the Wadi, for the vast majority of unskilled labor is a tough bird to swallow.
