Justice for Janitors

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a powerful, highly effective union representing employees in a variety of industries, including janitorial workers. The janitorial arm of SEIU is called "Justice for Janitors." You may recall that over the past few years, Justice for Janitors received some attention in Indianapolis by picketing on Monument Circle and in front of prominent downtown office buildings.

Justice for Janitors has developed a three-city, "Three Cities, One Future," campaign strategy, focusing on Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Indianapolis. Until now, Justice for Janitors has been working to organize and obtain multi-employer labor contracts in Columbus and Cincinnati. Following some success in those markets, however, its focus is now turning to Indianapolis.

Employers of substantial janitorial staffs and office building owners in Indianapolis must anticipate that they may become Justice for Janitors' next target. Justice for Janitors rejects the traditional means to organize a target employers' work force, such as the NLRB election process. Rather, it conducts a "corporate campaign," in which it mobilizes union members and community leaders, such as local ministers, to assault an employer's reputation by exerting strategic pressure where the employer is most vulnerable. In so doing, Justice for Janitors forces the employer to recognize the union or sign an agreement not to discourage their employees from organizing and to agree to employee-friendly labor contract terms. Baker & Daniels has helped clients fend off such attacks by proactively preparing management and by immediately hitting the ground and taking action when the assault begins.

What's important for employers in the targeted industries to know is that once an employer is under attack, it is too late to develop an effective corporate campaign resistance strategy. Those steps must be taken well in advance to minimize potential exposure and position the organization to sustain an onslaught without sustaining lasting damage. We encourage our janitorial and office building management clients to determine whether they know what steps to take now so their organization is well positioned to fend off a Justice for Janitors attack.