Last month, the paint and coatings corporate giant informed the contractor who employs the janitors, ABM, that they’d be seeking a new contractor. The current janitors, several of whom have been cleaning the facility for 15 years or more, will be out of a job at the end of the month.
Sherwin has said that the janitors weren’t meeting performance and quality expectations and that repeated attempts had been made to report the issues to ABM, but that the issues had not been resolved.
SEIU maintains that it is absolutely the company’s prerogative to negotiate with the contractor, or to select a new one, but that these conversations should have happened on an individual basis.
“You fire the coach, you don’t fire the whole team,” said SEIU Local 1’s State Director for Ohio, Yanela Sims.
SEIU says that its unionized janitors make between $12 and $15 per hour at Sherwin, whereas non-union workers typically make between $10 and $12. Moreover, SEIU members have explicitly juxtaposed the decision to dismiss its janitorial staff en masse with its expected campaign for public subsidies in the design and construction of a new corporate headquarters downtown. (Both Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland have lately retained law firms to help them draft incentive packages for Sherwin.)
“I don’t feel they deserve our money, the taxes we pay,” said Tiffany Gallego, one of the Sherwin-Williams janitors who will lose her job, in comments to the Plain Dealer. “You’re trying to kick us out of our jobs and use our tax dollars for your new building! It’s not fair.”
At a demonstration Thursday outside Sherwin-Williams’ corporate offices on West Prospect, speakers stressed that the issue was one of income inequality.
“Just because we’re cleaning trash doesn’t mean they can dismiss us like we are trash,” said Sandra Ellington, an SEIU janitor at Cleveland Hopkins International airport, who emceed the event. “This is a multi-billion dollar corporation and they’re dismissing janitors? Oh my god. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.”
Williams said that janitors, just like everybody else, deserve a livable wage — “not a minimum wage, a livable wage,” — and that the janitors at Sherwin-Williams worked just as hard as the executives, “even if [they’re] not wearing a suit and tie.”
Terry Eddy, a janitor at Sherwin-Williams, said that she and her colleagues had been doing their best on the job and that she felt betrayed by Sherwin-Williams. Craig Watson, an SEIU janitor at KeyTower, pledged solidarity.
“When we fight,” he shouted, “we win!”
Yanela Sims, in a statement provided to Scene, said that unions have historically been the best way for women and people of color to make economic gains. The visual aids at Thursday’s demonstration included a large purple “1-C-L-E” to symbolize unity in Cleveland for working people of all colors and backgrounds.
In a press advisory, SEIU said that “it’s time Cleveland worked for all working people—whether white, Black or brown—and not just a certain wealthy few.”
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This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2020.
What a ridiculous premise for an article.
Of course thirty people losing their jobs shouldn’t completely color how we view Sherwin Williams bringing THOUSANDS of new jobs downtown.
Thirty people losing their jobs is sad. But you know what, Cleveland has been losing a lot of jobs for a long time. We’ve lost over half a million residents in the last fifty years. Pro-entrenchment attitudes like Sam often brings to the table in his articles don’t help.
If you want to save Cleveland jobs, then how about shopping at local chains, supporting local businesses, and supporting forward-thinking politicians who will woo businesses, keep businesses, and help create jobs? Or we can all just picket and criticize local businesses until they move to Atlanta and Phoenix.
Some people are going to lose their jobs no matter what. We’re at least better off when more jobs are being created than lost.
Read their statement. These Janitors were not employed by Sherwin Williams and there
were MULTIPLE unresolved complaints about their performance to their bosses.
Why should they be forced to carry dead weight? Let me guess, it has nothing to do with performance and everything to.do with who these people are.
Why do Liberals think they’re helping when they have lowered expectations for certain demographics?
“Hurrrrr durrrrr liberals waaaaaaaaaah” – Every conservative post on here, ever.
Who else is willing to bet that the #2 & #3 posts on here are the same guy? Bank on it.
This is the dumbest article. Why is this Sherwin Williams’ problem? They’re not SW employees! Do we have to search for something bad or wrong with EVERYTHING around here? It’s a bright sunny 80 degree day, I’m on the beach with a drink in my hand, but everything is shit because I stepped on a rock last time I walked into the surf. Not every situation is going to be perfect for every person. Sorry. The company is announcing they’re bringing literally thousands of new employees in…..not to the suburbs but to downtown. They’re probably going to build on a flat-lot fucking travesty that Jacobs’ left us on Public Square decades ago. But NOOOOOO, We’re going to hunt around and find 30 people who’s lives are going to have to change and complain about it. And for the record, no one says they’re losing their job. They work for ABM. Unless Sherwin Williams is the only place ABM cleans, who says these 30 folks can’t work at a different location? Or hell, they might work at the SAME location once company XYZ moves into SW’s old digs. Let’s stop with the fake outrage.
It is going to be tough when SW goes to Atlanta.
They leave because our airport doesn’t cut it.
They are not bringing thousands of new jobs if they stay, just keeping those that already exist, However talking with lots of the valspar folks, Atlanta is pretty much a done deal. The only hope for cleveland is the very fancy house being built on Lake road for the SW CEO. That said, guys like that can take a $10m hit and survive.
Good luck Jackson!
No , Sherwin Williams should take all of its millions in taxes to a city that doesn’t give them a hard time over a few dollars in Janitor pay.
See you in Chicago!!!
Been to the new ROMOFEHO (Rocket Mortgage Field House)
If you have I’m sure you’ve notice the filthy mess that it is in the bathrooms and common areas. Who’s in charge of keeping the place clean? SEIU Janitors.
Inspite of Scene’s bitter grudge against him, Dan Gilbert hires Union Trades for every facet of work at Jack Casino, RoMoFeHo, and Tower City. He, nor Sherwin Williams is anti-Union or anti-Worker. They may be anti-Indignant Lump, but so am I.
I can’t wait until he too, tosses these lumps out on the curb with the rest of the garbage.
There is nothing stopping these folks from jumping ship and getting a job with the new company that Sherwin is contracting with. I’d be willing to bet they’re hiring right now! Sherwin did not fire those janitors. They work for ABM. ABM writes their checks from the money that Sherwin pays them to manage their labor and keep the building clean. Sherwin ended the contract with ABM for failing to make improvements to their workforce’s performance. As a non-Sherwin employee working in the building, the janitors did NOT do their job well. We have complained repeatedly to the building managers about issues that needed addressed. If ABM can’t correct it, they are not doing the job that Sherwin is paying the company (again, not the janitors) to do. These folks should be protesting outside of their own company’s office for failing to do what was necessary to remedy what Sherwin was complaining about.
Wonder how many SEIU Janitors Scene Magazine employs at their Offices?
Nobody should hire this company is horrible. They steal,lie,management harrassment investigations, they forged signatures to steal time and most of them feel entitled after they have been there for awhile. This is how vgs is doing in the federal building. Cecil,desi and his mother yes his mommy are very bad at managing the employees. Desi james rather go to the casino and gamble, his big ol mother just eats all day and Cecil is always depressed bc he has 3 jobs and no sleep. DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY AT ALL.
This article does mention, but seems to hide the fact, that the janitors were employees of a contracted firm. Their contact is being terminated, for cause; the cause not simply being poor performance by individual workers, but by failure of the contractor’s management to address concerns raised by Sherwin Williams.
I’d like to believe there are other contractors, anxious for this work and willing to insure current issues being addressed. I’d also like to assume, a different contractor gaining this business would need to add staff and would strongly consider hiring those currently being displaced.
This isn’t about what the employees make versus minimum wage. This seems to be about the service Sherwin Williams is receiving from a contracted firm vs the value of those services. Point -SW!