As folks get ready for the April 5 protests, I’m reminded of a lesson I learned 25 years ago.
When I was working for SEIU’s Justice for Janitors campaign in San Francisco in the late 1990’s, a major San Francisco business with more than with a dozen office buildings (including an art deco landmark on new Montgomery St.) was about to restructure its janitorial and maintenance services. These buildings traditionally were cleaned and maintained by Local 87 janitors, but their facilities manager was plotting to change contractors, reduce scheduling hours and “contract out” some of the cleaning operation.
This news was brought to my attention by a SEIU Local 87 janitor who worked in one of the buildings, an activist janitor who was also part of our newly formed women’s committee, a group of 20-30 mostly Latina women who met every afternoon before work at the union hall to learn and participate in the activities of the union. As organizing director, I volunteered to staff and support their committee.
They were fired up about protecting union jobs and suggested a picket line outside the company’s headquarters. I walked them through all the legal do’s and don’ts of picket lines, what the signs should say, how we’d ask the labor council for picket sanction, (blah, blah, blah…) and before I bored them to death they made a plan to design unfair labor practice logos (in Spanish and English) and construct a pile of Local 87 picket signs. We would meet again tomorrow.
The next afternoon I didn’t give them the go ahead. I told them we had to wait for the “right time.” I had the “big picture” mapped out. I had contacted the company, and they knew our concerns. I also had other irons in the fire. That’s what I was paid for. Even though my tactics seemed strategic, I didn’t heed or absorb the women’s committee’s desire. I pushed aside their instincts for the “smart” ones I was executing.
I told them I was working with the facilities guy through top-floor corporate connections. They told me the guy was a pedazo de mierda.
As I was “negotiating” with “corporate,” this facilities hot shot was buying time and then, suddenly, eight janitors were laid off and others went from full time to part time.
The next day when the women’s committee came into my office I had trouble looking them in the eye. At the union staff meeting I had to report on my failure, but I proposed “next steps” which would need more time and staff resources to the get the janitors’ jobs back.
Over the next weeks, we ran a major fightback campaign by organizing other unions, the construction workers in the building, the Labor Council, union friendly supervisors, our faith and community allies. We picketed all the buildings. We had huge noontime rallies. The press covered our actions. Hundreds of supporters picketed with us. Mayor Willie Brown became involved.
Local 87’s women’s committee turned out more of their colleagues from buildings all over the financial district, more than any of the Local 87 business agents. The women’s committee’s banners were the brightest and best.
Corporate headquarters hated this shit. I didn’t answer calls from the embattled facilities manager, but the next morning I was approached by the company lawyer who tracked me down on the picket line. He told me the facilities manager was fired that day, and they wanted to settle. Fast.
The next day all the Local 87 janitors returned to their jobs and received a bonus. And they signed the Local 87 collective bargaining agreement. The woman’s committee felt empowered again—especially when they learned the “piece of crap” was fired.
I was lucky that time. If I’d let the women’s committee picket two weeks prior, I’m sure we would’ve won faster, and without spending as many resources.
As the Longshore Union leader Harry Bridges said, “Always listen to the rank and file members.”
Chuck Schumer also had a committee and members: his fellow Senators. They wanted to vote No on Trumps’s disastrous budget. But like me, Chuck Schumer got lost in his own analysis. A very good analysis on paper.
The Democrats lost that round. The same way I lost my round 25 years ago. (At least I was young.)
A few years after our janitor victory, George W. Bush was elected to his second term and his first priority was to privatize Social Security. I was now executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council and was appointed by John Sweeney to sit on the national AFL-CIO advisory committee of labor councils; there are almost 500 labor councils.
Along with international unions and many of our community allies, we came up with a plan to “Save Social Security.” One of our major tactics was to hit the streets throughout the country. Our targets obviously weren’t Tesla dealerships, but we held nonstop rallies and vigils outside Charles Schwab offices, big banks, Wall St. and congressional offices in cities throughout the United States.
Major resources were committed for logistics, there was major earned media, intense mobilizing, etc. Congress and business started freaking out. George Bush felt he was about to lose.
And we “won.” Social Security was “saved.”
Today the Trump fascists are more pyric and ruthless than the Bush people. (They’re all the same corporate people.) And just like George Bush, Trump can (and will) be beaten with a diligent, big strategic tent and a (hopefully) coordinated organizing campaign. We’ll see.
I’m retired, but I’ll see you on the street this Saturday. (Noon at City Hall, rally at 1pm.)
Tim Paulson was the executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council (ret.) From 1997-2000 Tim was the organizing and political director of SEIU Local 87, at the time a partner in San Francisco’s historic Living Wage Coalition.
