Houston janitors say they’ll go on strike unless their pay rises

HOUSTON — Hundreds of Houston janitors are calling for change and threatening to go on strike if a deal isn’t reached between their union and cleaning contractors.

On Saturday, inside the George R. Brown Convention Center, janitors represented by SEIU Texas agreed to go on strike if their pay and benefits do not improve.

They want better pay, more benefits and more hours. The janitors say they have struck before and are ready to do so again.

“We will negotiate every day until May 31, but if we do not get a fair contract, you authorize us to go on strike,” said SEIU Texas President Elsa Flores.

After voting, they took to the streets of downtown chanting things like “Si se puede,” meaning “Yes, we can.”

“It really means something that when they needed it and when they had to take that difficult step of going on strike, they did it to protect their union, to improve their wages, to be able to take care of their interests. family,” Flores said. “So this year they’re coming back saying ‘yes we can’ because they believe it, they feel it, they know it in their heart.”

One of the people protesting Saturday was Maria Zamudio.

“Todos juntos Podemos hacerlo,” Zamudio told us. “All of us together. We can do it.”

Currently, Maria makes $10 an hour and she says it’s tough.

“Llenas la hielera de comida y vives oscuras por no poder pagar los billes o pagar los biles y no tienes comida,” Zamudio said. “You fill a cooler with food and live in the dark because you can’t pay your bills. Or you pay your bills and don’t have food.

She and everyone who marched Saturday in their purple shirts hope things get better.

“It’s about the generations to come. We all know we want to work in a clean, sanitized building, and we want the people who do this job well to receive a fair wage,” said Resha Thomas, executive vice president of SEIU Texas.

The union assures that it will fight for this.

“So that they can, instead of doing three jobs, be able to do one job well and get paid well,” Flores said.

If no agreement is reached by May 31, the janitors have announced that they will go on strike.

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