What’s going on with Millennium Building Services?

Millennium Building Services is a commercial cleaning and maintenance company based on Portland’s Swan Island. It serves some of the biggest companies in our area – Nike, Providence Health Services, and a number of downtown skyscrapers. It seems to be doing good business, having acquired other local janitorial companies in recent years.

Things aren’t so rosy for the women and men who do the cleaning for Millennium. Employees have reported:

• Being stuck with low or poverty wages even after years of loyalty to the company.
• Struggling to pay bills every month.
• Living in crowded housing with other families because they can’t afford to pay rent on their own.
• Being unable to afford the cost of the health insurance Millennium offers. People end up paying huge medical bills or else simply not going to the doctor when needed.
• Fearing reprisal from managers who have warned against calling in sick, despite state law that guarantees them paid sick time.
• Feeling disrespected by supervisors and managers.

To resolve these problems, Millennium workers are forming a union with SEIU Local 49.

Millennium Building Service janitors work hard every night and every day to clean the buildings of wealthy corporations. They are fighting for good jobs, with respect, fair pay, and affordable health insurance.

Millennium employees have requested that their management commit to a fair process for workers to form a union if they choose. We are calling on Millennium to agree to that fair process, to be an industry leader, and to create good jobs that can support a family.