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Hundreds of janitors at Denver International Airport left work on Friday, staging a one-day strike for higher pay and a less arduous workload.
The janitors’ union, SEIU Local 105, said on Friday afternoon that talks with the employer, Flagship Aviation Services, were promising and that workers were planning to return on Saturday. The union said another strike is possible if negotiations fail.
Flagship Aviation Services did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week, both by phone and email. His contract with the union expired Thursday.
Janitors earn $ 17 an hour.
“It’s very difficult for me to pay my rent and put food on the table to support my family. I need a living wage, ”Amer Garsark, who has held the post for 20 years, told the Denver Post at a rally outside the main terminal at the airport.
Workers said when colleagues stepped down in the past two years, those who remained were forced to shoulder the burden – on top of having to clean up more than ever because of COVID-19. Unlike other facilities, the airport has remained open throughout the pandemic.
“They are putting the workload on us because nobody is coming,” said Jasmine Kayani, a 13-year-old veteran. “They can’t recruit new employees for $ 17 an hour, so they put more work on us, with very low wages. “
Kayani and Garsark both were part of an overwhelming majority – 99.6%, according to SEIU Local 105 – of the approximately 250 janitors who voted to authorize the strike. In total, the union unit represents 350 concierges from the DIA, the vast majority of staff on duty at the airport.
In a statement, the airport urged the two sides to resolve their differences quickly.
Flagship has one of the most lucrative contracts at DIA – a $ 183 million contract with the city that lasts for three years. He began working under contract with DIA in March, taking over from ISS Facility Services, based in San Antonio, Texas, which had overseen cleaning services throughout DIA’s 26-year history and at the Stapleton International Airport previously.
ISS had faced recurring complaints about performance and complaints from its subcontractors that it was neglecting them. The Flagship deal, won through a competitive bidding process, is worth 59% more per year than ISS was paid, in part due to rising costs of services, new performance standards and incentives for workers.
When Flagship took over earlier this year, it absorbed the employees of the former subcontractor.
Workers during Friday’s walkout said conditions had generally eased under Flagship. Ron Ruggiero, president of SEIU Local 105, said that in 28 years he had “never seen workers so angry with the way they had been treated”.
Denver Post reporter Jon Murray contributed to this story.
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