Just the Facts - SEIU and Bargaining

Below are the facts as told by our Houston janitorial contractors - verbatim. A few protests this week, still weak participation overall by the janitors with less than 100 participating in any of the protests to date.

The facts from May 17:

Since the beginning of this process, the other participating contractors have had a goal of reaching a new contract which is fair to employees, clients, and our own companies.   In our early bargaining sessions we reached agreement on several non-economic issues.   Yesterday we moved into a discussion on wages and benefits.  The union’s opening economic proposal consisted of a $1.00 per hour increase starting on June 1^st of this year, another $1.00 per hour on June 1^st of 2013, and a final $1.00 per hour increase on June 1^st of 2014.    The union’s opening wage proposal yesterday amounted to an increase of more than 23% in less than three years.    On top of this, the union proposed a health insurance cost increase of 18% between now and June of 2014.

We viewed the union’s proposal yesterday as typical bargaining strategy:   “aim ridiculously high and hope to settle somewhere in the middle.”    We declined to participate in this strategy and made a reasonable opening proposal which provided every Houston janitor with a .10 cent per hour raise on each January 1 for the next five years.  We also researched health insurance and determined that a health insurance increase could be delayed for the foreseeable future, until legal challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as “Obamacare”) are resolved.  We presented an offer on this basis, and we offered four more bargaining dates between today and May 31.  We also offered to extend the current agreement through June 30 due to potential union scheduling conflicts between now and the end of May.

To our surprise, the union responded to the Contractors’ morning offer with a “final offer,” even though we have two more weeks before our contract expires on May 31.   The union’s “final offer” was the following:

           .65 cents per hour increase effective June 1, 2012, .50 cents per hour increase effective June 1, 2013, and .50 cents per hour increase effective June 1, 2014 – altogether a 20% wage increase in the next two years and a 23.5% increase over 2.5 years considering that all Houston janitors received a.25 cent per hour wage increase on January 1 of 2012 (five months ago);

           continued demand of an 18% health insurance increase during next two years – altogether a 36% increase over 2.5 years considering the $32 per month health insurance increase granted to employees on January 1, 2012 (five months ago);

            the Union did not accept any of the four bargaining dates proposed by the Contractors between now and May 31, and we believe the union will not accept our offer due to the fact that they scheduled their annual convention for May 28-30 in Denver;

During our bargaining session today, we learned that SEIU had released the attached brochure – bearing today’s date – directed at “Owners & Contractors.”   In that brochure, SEIU states that they intend May 17 to be their “final bargaining date,” even though the Contractors never agreed to stop negotiating two weeks before the contract expiration and even though the Contractors have offered four more bargaining dates between now and May 31.  The SEIU brochure also characterizes Houston as  “Millionaire City” and indicates an intent to bring class warfare to Houston in order to achieve bargaining goals of the janitors.

As explained above, the Union has not accepted any of our proposed bargaining dates between now and May 31.   We will continue to seek a resolution at the bargaining table, and we will continue to keep our customers apprised of any new developments in this process.

And more:

Houston Area Contractors and SEIU Negotiation Facts

1.               The collective bargaining agreement does not expire until May 31, 2012.

2.               In negotiations on May 17, the union presented the contractors with its “final offer” even though there were several key economic and non‑economic issues on which further bargaining was required.  No impasse has been reached in negotiations.

3.               The union’s “final offer” on wages was:

·       June 1, 2012      -         $ .65 per hour

·       June 1, 2013      -         $ .50 per hour

·       June 1, 2014      -         $ .50 per hour

This would have amounted to a total wage increase in 2012 alone of over 11%, when combined with the $.25 raise employees received on January 1, 2012.

4.               The union’s “final offer” also included increases in contractors’ health insurance contributions of $20.00 per month on June 1, 2012 and $25.00 per month on June 1, 2013.

5.               The contractors offered to meet with the union on several dates both this week and the week of May 28 to continue bargaining.

6.               The SEIU has failed to respond to these offers to meet, even though they are in town attempting to contact building owners.