Controversy continues for J.P. Morgan at M Financial Plaza after Arke Management dumps union janitors

Protests continue at M Financial Plaza after Arke Management replaced its union janitorial contractor with a non-union company, and owner JP Morgan has refused to change course. 

On May 8, union janitors and their supporters inflated a 18-foot-high “Fat Cat” in front of the building while banging drums and shaking noisemakers near its entrance, calling attention to JP Morgan’s immense profits ($54 billion in 2024) that come at the expense of good jobs for the janitors who clean its buildings.  

The controversy began in late 2023 when Arke Management replaced ABM, whose employees have a union, with Millennium Building Services, a non-union company with a history of workplace labor problems, including poor wages and benefits, high employee turnover, and employer violations of basic workplace rights. 

Since then, union janitors and their allies have taken part in about a dozen protests at M Financial Plaza, including a protest that shut down the adjacent intersection, and engaging tenants and clients at the building’s entrance. 

“We are not giving up,” said a member of SEIU Local 49, during the most recent protest. “J.P. Morgan and Arke Management can do the right thing and choose a union janitorial company to clean M Financial Plaza. They have a bunch of union companies to choose from.” 

At least a dozen union-friendly companies are listed on SEIU’s Responsible Contractor Guide for the Portland metro area.  

“Janitors and their allies are asking J.P. Morgan and Arke Management to invest in good jobs in Portland,” said Maggie Long, Executive Director of SEIU Local 49. “We want to see them make that call this summer and have a responsible union contractor cleaning the building by October 1st.”