[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 18 (Wednesday, February 27, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             METRO AIRPORT JANITORS HAVE EARNED A FAIR WAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BONIOR. Madam Speaker, in the Detroit Metropolitan area, we 
recently celebrated the opening of a $1.2 billion Midfield Terminal at 
our regional airport. Now, after millions and millions have been spent 
to build this terminal, and after billions and billions have been spent 
to bail out the airline industries, our airport is literally a mess 
because of $3.55.
  Now, $3.55 may not seem like a lot of money, but to workers like 
James Hughes it is a lot. What is even more insulting is that his pay 
and benefits are being cut without negotiations with his collective-
bargaining agent, the Service Employees International Union Local 79.
  When the new Midfield Terminal opened and the contractor in charge of 
custodial services turned its back on James Hughes and his coworkers, 
they turned their backs on the SEIU Local 79, and they turned their 
backs on all the passengers who fly through Detroit's airport. They 
said to James Hughes and his coworkers, we will not pay you a living 
wage. In fact, we are going to cut your pay from $10.90 an hour to 
$7.35 an hour, and we will not give you the same health care benefits 
that you had before. This is an absolute outrage.
  Well, you know what? James Hughes and his fellow janitors, they said 
that they are not going to pick up the trash, and the SEIU janitors 
walked off their jobs and let the garbage pile high.

                              {time}  1715

  This new symbol of prosperity is supposed to be embodied in this new 
terminal. It is supposed to be clean and new, and it is supposed to be 
a sign that things are turning around at Detroit Metro. Well, instead, 
it had become a symbol of greed, a symbol of cronyism, a symbol of 
nepotism, and a symbol of corruption at this airport. It seemed that 
contracts, whether they are no-bid contracts handed out to political 
friends and family members or broken contracts with our janitors, 
remain a persistent problem at our airport and in Wayne County.
  Well, it is high time that it stopped.
  On Thursday, the janitors who had previously cleaned Northwest's 
former home in the Davey Terminal, they are going to be holding a 
rally. They have had enough of this. They are tired. They are sick and 
tired of being sick and tired, and they will be standing up for 
justice. They will be standing up for dignity and respect, and they 
will be standing up for what is right.
  A living wage is something that every worker ought to be able to 
have. A wage enough so they can feed their families, pay their rent, 
pay their mortgage, a pay that one should be respected for.
  Madam Speaker, one cannot help but be reminded of the time when 
garbage piled high up all over Memphis, leaving a stench in the air. 
The mayor there at that time refused to treat city sanitation workers 
with respect. He refused to honor their work with a fair wage, and he 
listened more to his political cronies than he did to the elected 
representatives of the people. So the young Memphis janitors, 
represented by AFSCME United, they held rallies, they marched the 
streets, and then they brought in Martin Luther King, Jr., to fight 
their cause.
  The second time he came was the tragic day in April which no one will 
ever, ever forget. Yet, sometimes we forget why he came to Memphis. He 
was there because he saw his brothers and sisters in a struggle. It was 
a struggle for civil rights, for social justice, and for economic 
equality; and he died fighting against poverty and supporting 
sanitation workers who were on strike in Memphis.
  Now, nearly 34 years later, in a different city, at a different 
moment in our history, janitors and sanitation workers are still 
struggling for the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
  Fredrick Douglas once wrote, ``There is no progress without 
struggle.'' Well, these workers have been struggling for generations, 
and progress has become painfully, painfully slow to come. The time is 
now for those who care about working families to join them in their 
struggle. The time has come for justice for janitors. I am here to say 
tonight, Madam Speaker, that I am proud to stand with the men and women 
of SEIU local 79 and their great President Willie Hampton for their 
fight for living wages and adequate benefits. It is time we move 
forward. It is time to act. And on Thursday, February 28, we will.

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