— Photo by Olubiyi Sehindemi
Union takes time from Convention to show support for jobless janitors
PEF delegates support displaced MONY workers
Union solidarity was on display in downtown Syracuse during PEF’s 22nd Annual Convention, as scores of PEF delegates took time out from the meeting to join the informational picket line of jobless janitors, outside the MONY building.
The janitors are members of one of PEF’s sister unions, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 200B, and they’ve been out of work for more than 100 days, after Mutual of New York (MONY) hired Janitronics, a non-union contractor in Syracuse, to handle their cleaning service.
As hundreds of PEF delegates marched and chanted “No justice, no peace,” PEF President Roger Benson told the displaced workers the PEF membership stands behind their campaign to win back their jobs and benefits.
“We’re here today to demand that MONY and Janitronics treat their workers with the dignity and respect that every worker deserves,” Benson said.
“We will also support these workers by taking this informational picket back to Albany to the Janitronics headquarters, to push company officials to do the right thing.”
— Denyce Duncan Lacy