LABOR–Deal by Janitors May Not Boost Other Unions

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When janitors proclaimed victory last week and ended their three-week strike, there were bold predictions that other local unions would use the settlement to bolster their own contract demands this summer.

Not so, according to L.A.’s top labor official.

“People aren’t going to up their demands just because of this strike,” said Miguel Contreras, executive secretary and treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. “But you are going to see more very high-profile fights” with union members hitting the streets to tap public sympathy.

The action could get hot and heavy. In the months ahead, contracts covering an estimated 300,000 local workers mostly in the public sector are set to expire.

This week, members of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists are set to go on strike over residual pay for commercials, with demonstrations planned outside the offices of companies that use commercials to advertise their products.

Some say such tactics might have worked for the low-paid janitors, but won’t necessarily translate to better deals for higher-paid workers.

“The janitors were kind of a unique case,” said Dan Mitchell, a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business and the UCLA School of Public Policy. “You had a low-wage immigrant population and a lot of publicity surrounding earlier ‘Justice for Janitors’ campaigns. This doesn’t necessarily carry over to plumbers or electricians or even county workers. You may not have the mayor and other political and civic leaders out there trying to promote the labor union’s desired outcome.”

Several huge contracts are set to expire in the months ahead, including agreements covering 42,000 Los Angeles school teachers (June 30); 45,000 county workers (Sept. 30); and 25,000 laborers and 20,000 painters in the construction industry (both on June 30). Also expiring on June 30 is the contract covering the 9,475 officers in the Los Angeles Police Department.

Before going on strike, the 8,500 janitors represented by the Service Employees International Union were typically paid between $6 and $7 an hour; they sought an across-the-board raise of $1 an hour.

During the strike, which saw rolling street demonstrations and garnered prominent local media coverage, the janitors won the backing of the likes of Cardinal Roger Mahony and Mayor Richard Riordan, who persuaded prominent real estate developer Robert Maguire to step in and help mediate the dispute.

The compromise that emerged called for janitors working downtown and in Century City to receive a raise of 70 cents an hour while workers in outlying areas get a boost of 30 cents an hour.

Eighty-eight percent of the janitors approved the deal, ending the walkout. SEIU and other union leaders were quick to claim victory, saying the momentum would carry through to other labor negotiations.

Some union-watchers agree.

“The fact that the janitors were able to bring in unprecedented levels of support from other unions and garner substantial public support bodes very well for unions in upcoming negotiations,” said Kent Wong, executive director of the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education.

That’s exactly what concerns public- and private-sector employers who will sit across the bargaining table from those unions.

“Regardless of whether the janitors got all they were asking for, the public perception is that they won,” said Steve Atkinson, managing partner of the Cerritos-based law firm Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud and Romo, which represents many public agencies in labor contract negotiations. “Other unions are going to look at this and say, ‘Hey, the janitors won their strike, so we should be more aggressive in our strike.'”

Atkinson said worker protests have been greatly aided by a new state law that took effect on Jan. 1 raising the bar for employers seeking injunctions against disruptions during strike situations.

“The key to the janitors’ strike was the fact that contractors were unable to get an injunction to stop the unions from (disrupting) buildings and streets. It has changed the balance of power in favor of the unions,” Atkinson said.

But the surge in momentum may prove difficult to sustain.

“Some of this talk of momentum may be a little overblown,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County. “The public sympathy for the plight of the workers might shrink over time.”

It could dissipate very quickly if the economic outlook becomes more clouded, said Michael Dear, director of the Southern California Studies Center at USC.

“The unions are trying to make the case that, given the robust economy, the super rich are doing super well and that more of the wealth ought to trickle down,” Dear said. “It’s a powerful argument while the current economic climate prevails, but that would collapse very quickly if the balloon bursts.”

Dear said the janitors were very effective in conveying that argument to the media and public. “The question is, will other unions be equally effective in getting this message across?”

Contreras and other labor leaders intend to hammer home that message in each of the upcoming labor negotiations, even in cases where there is a general perception that the unions already have high wage levels.

“People might think that county workers or actors are well paid,” Contreras said. “But 30 percent of county workers are at or below the poverty level, and with the exception of a few super-rich actors, most actors struggle to make ends meet. We are going to get the message out to the public that these workers are not sharing in the economic prosperity.”

Repeated use of this strategy carries some risk.

“There is a point where the residents of Los Angeles will say enough is enough,” said Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. “After four or five of these strikes with street closures or other inconveniences, the welcome from residents and building tenants might wear a little thin.”