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SEIU Is Leading the Effort To Police and Expose Unscrupulous Employers Who Exploit Workers

Big corporations think they can get away with breaking the law because they think no one is watching. The recent settlement with four of the nation's largest supermarket chains—Safeway, Vons, Albertsons, and Ralph's—prove they are wrong. This settlement shows that big corporations will be held accountable when they use subcontractors to skirt the law and exploit workers, especially immigrant workers.

SEIU is watching and will aggressively go after companies that break the law.

• The scheme at Safeway, Vons, Albertsons, and Ralph's was uncovered by SEIU.  We conducted an extensive investigation and passed on our work to the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund (MCTF), a Los Angeles-based industry watchdog group funded by SEIU and responsible janitorial companies concerned with ensuring high standards in the cleaning industry.  MCTF finished the investigation and pursued the class-action lawsuit that led to a $22.4 million settlement on behalf of 2,000 janitors.
• In August 2004, a janitorial company that cleaned Target stores agreed to pay $1.9 million in back wages to 775 employees following charges the firm broke federal overtime laws.  SEIU and the MCTF conducted the original investigation and referred the case to the Labor Department.
• United Parcel Service is currently facing litigation in at least three states over failure to pay overtime to subcontracted janitors. As many as 1,000 janitors may have been affected and the suit could involve millions of dollars.  SEIU identified the practice and currently provides legal counsel to the plaintiffs.
• Wal-Mart is being investigated for its involvement in a scheme in which its contractors employed undocumented workers and failed to follow certain employment laws. SEIU is not involved in the Wal-Mart case.

Until big corporations stop using subcontracting as a way to exploit workers and avoid the law, litigation on this issue is necessary to ensure that the employment standards of responsible, law-abiding companies and the working conditions of hundreds of thousands of hard-working janitors are not undermined.

The only way for janitors to make sure their employers follow the rules is for janitors to form a union. Wage and hour violations are widespread in the non-union janitorial industry.  The only real guarantee for janitors against this type of exploitation is to form a union.  SEIU and responsible, law-abiding janitorial companies are going to be aggressively policing these practices so that they don't drive standards down for honest companies and undermine the living standards of the hundreds of thousands of janitors who have good-paying union jobs with health benefits.  We have evidence right now that these practices are going on today at Vons — despite this settlement, they haven't learned their lesson.  SEIU will pursue another lawsuit if that's what it takes.