Retail cleaning workers seek to reverse decline in wages

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_4678

4 November 2010

MINNEAPOLIS - Retail cleaning workers in the Twin Cities have seen their wages and working conditions deteriorate severely over the last decade. On Saturday several cleaning workers will march with community allies in Minneapolis, calling on prominent retailers to commit to reversing that trend.

The March for Justice in Retail Cleaning will progress through south Minneapolis along Lake Street, from Uptown to Minnehaha Avenue. Along the way, marchers will demonstrate outside three stores: Lunds grocery at 1450 W. Lake St., SuperValu at Nicollet Avenue, and Target at 26th Avenue.

Marchers will gather at 11 a.m. at Grace Trinity Community Church, 1430 W. 28th St. The march will conclude with a rally at 2 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church, 2730 E. 31st St.

The march is being organized by “Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha” (CTUL), which means “Center of Workers United in Struggle.” CTUL is a worker-outreach initiative of the labor-faith coalition Workers Interfaith Network.

Based in Minneapolis, CTUL organizes support for low-wage, unorganized workers who are victims of wage theft, unsafe working conditions or other employer abuses. Retail cleaning has emerged as a cesspool of such abuses, according to CTUL.

Most retail chains – Target, SuperValu and Lunds & Byerly’s included – outsource their cleaning work to subcontractors, which compete fiercely against each other to offer the lowest bid. To turn a profit off such low bids, CTUL says, subcontractors must unfairly exploit their workers, many of whom are recent immigrants.

FULL story at link.