Janitors Sweep into Santa Monica

By Teresa Rochester

The Third Street Promenade moved with a red rhythmic pulse Thursday evening as hundreds of janitors swept through town for the second time this week as part of a massive countywide wage strike, which has sparked similar movements in Oakland and San Diego.

A sea of red-T-shirt clad protesters, some holding the hands of their small children or pushing strollers, chanted justice for janitors, as they congregated at the entrance of the posh 100 Wilshire Boulevard office building overlooking the ocean. They then embarked on a spirited two-hour march through the streets of downtown and the lobbies of some of the city's largest office buildings.

"We want to improve our lives," said Miguel Alferez, 25, a janitor at the Spiker Properties in Ocean Park, who makes $6.30 an hour cleaning three floors a night. Alferez moved to Los Angeles from Mexico three years ago.

"We want to get a little more money and our health benefits," Alferez said. "My family lives in Mexico, and I live on my own. It's really hard for me. I have a roommate and we share all the bills. Sometimes I have to work during the day. I work 16 hours a day."

The janitors -- members of the Service Employees International Union Local 1877 -- were joined by City Councilmen Paul Rosenstein, Kevin McKeown and Michael Feinstein, who this week voted with the rest of the council to support the janitors' strike.

"The City Council of Santa Monica supports your cause," Rosenstein, a union electrician, told the cheering crowd at the foot of 100 Wilshire Boulevard. "The reason we support your cause is because the people of Santa Monica support your cause. You've worked very hard for the cause. We know it isn't easy, but if we stick together we know we will have success."

"We're going to stand with you just as we stood with the workers at the hotel across the street who just got a great new contract," said McKeown, pointing to the Fairmont Miramar, Santa Monica's only unionized hotel. "You will get a great new contract as well."

The 8,500 janitors of SEIU Local 1877 went on strike on April 3, following the expiration of their contract March 31. They are demanding a $3-an-hour raise spread out over three years. Called a rolling strike, the demonstrations are growing daily stretching out from downtown Los Angeles and Century City to Pasadena, Ventura and the San Fernando Valley.

There was one incident Thursday, as marchers made their way down city streets, at times sitting in intersections. As the protesters marched through the lobby of the Wilshire Palisades office building at the corner of Arizona Avenue and 2nd Street, a woman alleged union organizer Carlos Urrutia shoved her. Outside the building five police officers circled Urrutia.

After a heated exchange, the police took down information from Urrutia's driver license and health insurance before he was released. When asked by a reporter why it was necessary to see Urrutia's insurance card, Officer Greg Kapp replied, "He's being difficult."

As the march moved down the Third Street Promenade, tourists snapped pictures and videotaped the procession. Harry Keiley, president nominee of the Santa Monica/Malibu Classroom Teachers Association, stood on the sidewalk with his bicycle clapping in time to the janitor's chant. Stepping off the curb and into the river of people, Keiley, was handed a placard and joined the march.

"The cause is just," said Keiley, who worked as a janitor in New York during the 1980s while attending college. "These people are hard working, and they live in poverty. This is a no brainer. These people, their time has come. They work 40 to 60 hours a week and live in poverty. This is the 21st century in the richest country in the world. It's un-American."

At the intersection of 4th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, the marchers dropped to the ground; several motorists stuck at the crossing honked their horns in support. Keiley crouched down with them next to his bike.

Outside 233 Wilshire Boulevard, the marchers congregated in the building's courtyard. The march was over, and the final speeches were being delivered, when two more busloads of janitors arrived from a march in El Segundo, swelling the ranks to 400. Once again the janitors headed toward Third Street.

The marchers flanked the promenade's topiary dinosaurs, where street performer Billy picked up the beat of their chant on his small drum set. Janitors, who this week received their first weekly $100 strike pay and have received 5,000 pounds of donated food, dropped dollars in Billy's donation buckets.

Standing by a light post, Steele Smith, who monitors the Promenade's street performers, smiled as he watched the scene unfold.