Taking a Stand at Standard Insurance
For over 20 years, Standard Insurance Center and Standard Plaza have invested in a responsible union janitorial company to keeps their offices clean. Janitors in the buildings had good jobs, earned fair wages and had access to affordable healthcare. In July, Standard made the decision to switch to Millennium Building Services, a non-union contractor marked “Red,” the lowest possible rating, on ResponsibleContractorGuide.net. Millennium workers have been speaking out about working conditions since 2017. Workers report extreme exploitation, unfair wages and unaffordable health insurance. Millennium is known for using a subcontractor model, where they may further subcontract janitorial services to dubious “independent contractors” — sometimes without the knowledge of the building managers.
National Maintenance Contractors Faces Another Lawsuit from Ex-Employees
National Maintenance Contractors, a janitorial firm with a long history with legal challenges, faces scrutiny this week after new claims are made. The NMC business model has come under fire in Oregon and Washington, especially after after a 2013 ruling by an administrative law judge—upheld in 2015 and 2017—found that NMC misclassified employees as franchisees.
Good Jobs Return to Commonwealth Building
Owner KBS and manager CBRE move to protect workers and investment by hiring responsible janitorial contractor. Janitors celebrate this month as word was released that good union jobs would be returning to the Commonwealth Building in downtown Portland. Commonwealth had, for years, been cleaned by union janitors before a decision was made to choose Expresso Building Services to clean the building. After speaking out, downtown janitors can celebrate a step in the right direction after Commonwealth announced that they would be changing contractors to use a verified “Responsible Contractor” to clean the building.
Health and Safety Problems Land Millennium Building Services in Spotlight — Again
Millennium employee who fell multiple stories reveals hidden layers of subcontracting. The story reads like a nightmare: Jeff Ready-Kraft, a window cleaner, fell eight stories from the top of the Morgan Building in downtown Portland. His hand was burned from attempting to grip the rope to stop himself. A witness told local news, “Out of the corner of my eye, I saw this flash. There was a little vibration you could feel when he landed on the ground, it was crazy.” Further investigation from Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revealed that the building owners may not have even known that Mr. Ready-Kraft would be working on their building.
Major Investors Step Up to End Sexual Harassment and Misconduct
Trustees for major pension and investment funds expect protections for workers’ rights against sexual harassment and assault. The #MeToo movement highlighted how harassment, discrimination, and assault pervade corporate cultures, from the executive level to front-line workers. A movement that began with courageous survivors sparking public moral outrage found major allies among institutional investors last month. The “Trustees United for Long Term Value” released their list of principles to guide their investments, a list that began with the premise that sexual harassment and misconduct manifest in the value of companies. Now the Trustees are getting behind janitors fighting for safe, fair working conditions.
We're working together for a better economy, good jobs, and healthy, safe buildings.
