(en) US, blackrosefed: SOLIDARITY IN ACTION: HOUSING AND
LABOR GROUPS SUPPORT WORKERS AT JANUS NEGOTIATIONS [VIDEO]
The chants barely subsided as they pushed their way into the main office. Workers at the
Janus Youth Shelter had seen their negotiations almost entirely halted as they saw the
prospect of miniscule raises, layoffs, and cuts in services for the homeless at-risk youth
they serve. As they moved into the office with a group of almost thirty supporters, the
Executive Director, Dennis Marrow, was there waiting for them. He demanded that workers
leave as he headed to a back office. Determined, the group refused to let him escape into
an in descript room and demanded that he hear the workers demands. ---- This is just the
most recent escalation in a growing conflict between management of the Portland non-profit
and the union, which is one of the few Industrial Workers of the World “contract shops.”
Here workers themselves, rather than paid staff members, do all of the union functions,
from the original organizing drive to the negotiations over new contracts. Their shop is
one of several Janus shops, with some also organized with the IWW and then some with
AFSCME, all of which are seeing wage stagnation and possible staffing cuts. This is not a
new story for care workers of most stripes, where shelters, group homes, and skilled care
facilities under the non-profit or semi-public sector banner are seeing the
institutionalization of poverty wages.
“My co-workers and I deal with a lot of challenging, sometimes traumatizing, work,” said
Tyler Rizzo, a worker who was addressing Morrow. “On top of the vicarious trauma that we
experience, and the specialized set of skills we develop to deal with the escalating
conflict, and providing emotional support and stability for these homeless youth, we have
to worry about keeping ourselves out of poverty with these $10.25 an hour wages.”
Cuts have been a consistent feature of Janus negotiations the last several years, and in
2011 after Harry’s Mother and the Street Light Youth Shelter both were denied promised
raises. This came directly after an attempt by Janus to force legal arbitration for any
fired worker intending appeal, which is financially impossible for a volunteer-run union
like the IWW.
Much of this comes as Janus claims that they are failing to get money they need from the
state to meet wage needs.
“Where was the union when Multnomah County increased minimum wage for its employees to $15
an hour, and I was at the table asking what are they going to do for contract workers,”
said Morrow when challenged on the low wages. “I didn’t see the union there.” In response
to this several organizers pointed out that Morrow currently receives a six-figure salary
for his position as Executive Director, a wage that workers claim is far beyond the norm
for positions such as his.
“Dennis, how much will you sacrifice to pull your workers out of poverty?” asked JC
Steiner, organizer with the IWW. “You have made over a hundred thousand dollars for over a
decade. How do you justify that? How do you look people in the eye when they are nearly
homeless working for you?”
After the picket began, a worker-committee showed up for regular negotiations. They have
one more wage session to negotiate, which will be set for late September. This was the
first major action in support of the Janus workers, organized jointly by groups such as
the Portland Solidarity Network, Jobs With Justice, $15Now, and the Black Rose Federation.
As negotiations move forward the workers are committing to rely on open organizing, both
inside and outside of the workplace, as a way to put pressure on Janus to raise the wages
to a standard that can better meet with Portland’s rising living costs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAUKY_DM23Q
http://www.blackrosefed.org/solidarity-in-action-housing-and-labor-groups-support-workers-at-janus-negotiations-video/
