"Union fights to keep O'Hare janitor jobs"

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Chicagoland Union fights to keep O'Hare janitor jobs
City has $99 million bid from firm that labor leaders say would hire new
workforce at lower wages
By Jeff Coen
The Chicago (IL) Tribune


The latest tension in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's testy relationship with major
Chicago labor unions is centered on O'Hare International Airport, where the
city is poised to award a new janitorial contract that could cost hundreds
of workers their jobs.

The Service Employees International Union is appealing to the mayor and the
city inspector general to head off a $99 million bid from a company that
union leaders accuse of undercutting competitors by planning to replace
veteran custodians and window cleaners with cheaper labor.

"The mayor holds the ultimate decision on this," said SEIU Local 1 President
Tom Balanoff. "The mayor can look at a situation and say, 'I don't think
that's a responsible contractor. I don't want that.' "

The current contract for custodial services at O'Hare, with a company called
Scrub Inc., expired June 30, and City Hall's decision on a new contract
could come at any time.

"While we cannot comment on a pending contract or potential bidder, the city
is committed to providing top-rate custodial services at the airports for
our passengers at a competitive cost," said Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah
Hamilton.

SEIU said Scrub has been paying workers according to prevailing rates that
begin at $12.05 an hour and top out at $15.45 an hour for those with five
years or more of seniority.

City records show that Chicago-based United Maintenance Company Inc.
underbid Scrub by more than $11 million for the new five-year contract and
also came in below eight other bidders that are signatories to SEIU's master
agreement with janitorial companies.

Balanoff said he has met with the general counsel for United Maintenance and
was told the company would hire its own workforce if it gets the contract, a
move that would allow janitors with no union seniority to be hired at the
bottom of the prevailing wage scale to do the work of current employees who
are making more. He said that is enough for the city to declare the company
is not a responsible bidder.

United Maintenance's president, Richard Simon, did not return calls for
comment. It is not the first time Simon has been embroiled in complaints
about undercutting labor agreements.

In 2002, Simon and United Maintenance's parent company were named in a
federal Independent Review Board investigation of Chicago Teamsters union
leaders. Simon was found to have colluded with Teamster boss William Hogan
Jr. and another official on a contract for workers for Las Vegas trade shows
"for which Simon's company would pay lower wages ... from what the existing
collective bargaining agreement required."

Under the agreement the board investigated, Simon would have been able to
control the hours of temporary workers to prevent them from building up
enough time to earn certain benefits. Simon disputed the claims the contract
was substandard and said his goal was to raise wages for the Las Vegas
local.

The new turmoil comes as Emanuel is wrangling with a number of city unions.
The Chicago Teachers Union as well as the labor unions for the Police and
Fire departments are in the midst of contract talks, and the mayor's moves
to change work rules and foster competition with the private sector have put
him at odds with some public employee unions.

Just last week, other SEIU janitors held a City Hall news conference to
complain they were losing their jobs at municipal buildings after the city
began doing business with another contractor.

Balanoff contends there is no direct savings for taxpayers if his
approximately 340 union workers are cut loose at O'Hare because the contract
is paid through airline fees and concessions at the airport. Hamilton said
that when airport costs are high, they can be passed on to Chicago residents
and businesses.

The union has long supported Democrats including President Barack Obama,
whom Emanuel worked for as White House chief of staff, but SEIU has not
squarely backed the new Chicago mayor.

Before his election, Emanuel met with Balanoff and other SEIU leaders to
seek their support and discuss priorities. Balanoff recalled the meeting was
positive and Emanuel said he would consider the union's push for a city
ordinance guaranteeing wages and benefits for janitors and other workers.

But ultimately the union stayed neutral in the mayor's race that Emanuel won
handily over his nearest competitor.

"No, we didn't endorse him, but we didn't endorse anyone else," Balanoff
noted.

The union's proposed "responsible bidder in services" ordinance, which could
include a provision for keeping longtime employees, is in limbo at City
Hall. More than 30 aldermen co-signed an early version of the proposal that
included prevailing wage language but not a retention clause.

"The responsibility ordinance has little to do with a responsible vendor,"
said Hamilton, the mayor's spokeswoman. "We are already required to review
responsibility as a matter of state law."

Ald. William Burns, 4th, a sponsor of the proposal, said he understands SEIU
and the administration still are in discussions about it, and he is hopeful
Emanuel eventually could support it.

"It's about basic fairness for long-standing employees who serve the
citizens of the city," Burns said.