Yesterday afternoon, over 3,000 Chicago janitors and members of the Services Employees International Union packed the Chicago Theater for a "contract convention," featuring appearances by local elected officals, labor leaders, and many of the janitors themselves. After the program concluded, the enthusiastic crowd took to the snowy streets for a frigid -- but high-energy -- march to Federal Plaza. Once there, several more speakers took to a small stage to address the crowd. Watch some of those remarks below:
The rally comes days before SEIU Local 1 begins contract negotiations with the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA). Talking to the Sun-Times, spokeswoman Erica Hade expressed hope that the union could secure better pay and health care for the workers:
"We know it's tough times," said SEIU spokeswoman Erica Hade, noting some building owners' struggles with vacancy rates. "Everybody is struggling. Working people are struggling to pay their mortgages and make ends meet. But we think there needs to be a partnership between everyone who's hurting to try to get our economy back on track."
During the Chicago Theater event, Ald. Ricardo Munoz told the audience, "We need to send a strong message that janitors deserve a living wage and better benefits." Chicago janitor Ed Washington talked about his own frustrations: "It keeps getting harder to make ends meet because everything seems to be going up -- except for my paycheck." Meanwhile, Rose Chisholm of the grassroots organization Action Now pointed out that as "CEOs stick together to keep their outrageously high salaries ... working families need to stand up together."
The assembled janitors also heard a lot about the success of the Republic Windows sit-in last December. "There were 250 Republic Windows and Doors workers and we showed the nation what we can do if we're united," said former Republic employee Heriberto Barriga told them. "There is over 2,000 of you members here. Imagine what you guys can do to get a good contract if you continue to stay united."
During her remarks, Rep. Jan Schakowsky expressed optimism about the direction of the country under President Obama: "This has the possibility of being one of those big change moments in the history of our country. We could be ushering in a new progressive era." She also read the following excerpt from the president's most recent weekly address, to great applause:
I know these steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this:
So am I.
The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long, but I don’t. I work for the American people.
UPDATE: Here are some photos from the event:
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