Janitors who were part of the Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ, protested K&S Management Services, a Vienna-primarily based non-union cleaning contractor, in Tysons the day past (June 6).
With 750,000 industrial office cleaners’ contracts set to run out this year, Jaime Contreras, the VP for 32BJ SEIU, advised Tysons Reporter that the union will assist with bargaining.
“Today, we’re centered on K&S, the biggest non-union cleaning enterprise in Virginia — also a corporation regarded to violate people’s rights to arrange at the job,” Contreras said. “They have been observed responsible through the National Labor Board of firing an employee for truly trying to prepare on the task.”
That former K&S worker, Geofredo Castro, advised the group in Spanish and with an English translator that he decided to arrange his workers with 32BJ because “there were masses of injustices, and they didn’t pay us a fair profit, and we didn’t get almost any blessings.”
“I went to the K&S office to provide them the petition that I signed with my coworkers, but afterward, they fired me unfairly,” the translator said. “With the union’s help, during the closing month, we received our case in opposition to K&S, and they were obligated to pay me $1,500 for all the labor violations they committed in opposition to our workers.”
32BJ SEIU filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming that K&S turned into carrying out unfair, brutal work practices, which protected Castro’s firing. K&S settled in May.
In an unrelated incident, a K&S employee filed a sexual harassment claim in January towards a manager at a worksite in D.C.
Julia Karant, a spokeswoman for the union, said that 32BJ SEIU hasn’t heard from K&S about the allegations and that the organization is under research with the aid of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for sexual harassment.
K&S said in an emailed announcement to Tysons Reporter:
K&S respects its employees and their right to interact in concerted interest. However, as far as K&S is conscious, no petition has been filed with the National Labor Relations Board to initiate the method for voting wherein the employees are given the opportunity to take part in a loose and honest election to determine if they want to be represented by the union. K&S has voluntarily agreed to take steps to ensure that personal rights are blanketed.
K&S takes the expenses of sexual harassment seriously and strives to provide a secure environment and equal opportunities for all personnel. We attempt to prevent sexual harassment, and if harassment claims are made, we can investigate and take appropriate movement. Beyond that, we can’t comment on actual costs filed by male ormalemalefemaleonnel.
Around 4:30 p.M., the protesters shouted in English and Spanish, “K&S, disgrace on you” and “When we fight, we win” as they made their way from 1800 Tysons Blvd to 1751 Pinnacle Drive — one of the Tysons buildings that K&S cleans.
Del. Ken Plum (D-thirty sixth District), who stood out together with his orange shirt in a crowd of crimson, informed the protesters that he’s combating “truthful work, truthful pay” in “the center of wealth in the United States.”
“It doesn’t get any wealthier than this,” Plum stated. “But the question is, whose wealth is it?
Dalia Palchik, a candidate for the Providence District seat on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, also joined the rally.
Contreras stated that the protest became a sizeable primary march against K&S using 32BJ SEIU, and more are in the works.
“I suppose the intention here is to carry K&S to the desk to satisfy with us and have an effective conversation about a way to boost standards for those employees and how to respect people at the job,” Contreras said, “but also to call attention to the rest of the industry within the place that our agreement is up and we’re going to be preventing for better wages.”
