Janitors march for higher wages

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 22, 2008 | by Melanie Carroll

PALO ALTO -- Hundreds of janitors marked Good Friday by marching with their families and supporters up a manicured stretch of Page Mill Road to draw attention to their plight and upcoming contract negotiations.

Pounding drums, strumming guitars and shouting "Si se puede" (Yes, we can), roughly 350 protesters walked past some of Silicon Valley's most well-known institutions, demanding higher wages and better health care. Some carried crosses, while others held signs saying "Help Lift Our Burden" and "Striving for Dignity." Others pushed baby carriages with blankets arranged to their youngsters from the afternoon sun.

The janitors who clean the offices of the area's high-tech firms earn about $11 an hour and must work for a year or more before receiving health benefits, said Kevin Cartwright, spokesman for the Service Employees International Union, Local 1877. The union represents roughly 4,000 janitors in Silicon Valley who work for companies including Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Intel and the corporate law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, he said.

Janitors often are forced to live with relatives because they cannot afford their own homes, Cartwright added.

Janitor Miguel Dominguez, who lives in San Jose, told the crowd in Spanish that he works hard but doesn't have enough money to buy computers for his children.

"On Good Friday, Christians ... lament everyone's suffering," said Eileen Altman, associate pastor of The First Congregational Church of Palo Alto. Altman was among ahandful of clergy who participated in the march.

The union's contract expires at the end of April, said Cartwright, adding that the janitors are hoping to win better wages and health care benefits.

Jean Nolan, a secretary at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, was on her way out to lunch when the purple-shirted demonstrators poured into the law firm's parking lot, shouting "Si se puede" and other slogans.

"I can't empathize with them because they are speaking Spanish," Nolan said. "I can't understand what they're saying."

Silicon Valley Leadership Group spokesman Phil Yost said the group had no comment about the rally.

E-mail Melanie Carroll at mcarroll@dailynewsgroup.com.