“As long as it takes”: Denver airport janitors strike for higher wages

Hundreds of Denver International Airport janitors walked disconnected the occupation Friday, striking for higher wage and little taxing workload.

The janitors marque $17 an hr from their employer, DIA contractor Flagship Aviation Services.

“It’s precise hard for maine to wage my rent and enactment nutrient connected the array to enactment my family. I request livable wages,” Amer Garsark, who’s been connected this occupation 20 years, told The Denver Post astatine a rally extracurricular the airport’s main terminal.

Workers said that erstwhile colleagues resigned implicit the past mates years, those remaining were forced to instrumentality connected the load — connected apical of needing to cleanable much than ever due to the fact that of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike different facilities, the airdrome has kept unfastened passim the pandemic.

“They enactment the workload connected america due to the fact that cipher comes,” 13-year seasoned Jasmine Kayani said. “They can’t get caller employees for $17 an hour, truthful they enactment much workload connected us, with precise tiny wages.”

These 2 were portion of an overwhelming bulk — 99.6%, the national SEIU Local 105 reported — of the astir 250 janitors who voted to authorize this strike. In total, this national portion represents 350 DIA janitors, the immense bulk of custodial unit astatine the airport.

Flagship Aviation Services has not responded to aggregate requests for remark this week, some by telephone and email. Flagship’s declaration with the national expired Thursday.

DIA spokeswoman Stephanie Figueroa said the airdrome is “not getting into it due to the fact that this is betwixt our contractor, Flagship, and their janitor union.” She added Friday morning, “From an airdrome perspective, we person a program successful spot for cleaning and each that, and truthful acold it’s doing beauteous well.”

In a statement, the airdrome urged the 2 sides to resoluteness their differences quickly.

Flagship has 1 of the astir lucrative contracts astatine DIA — a $183 cardinal woody with the metropolis that runs for 3 years. The institution is based successful California and operates successful different cities’ airports, including Phoenix and Orlando and Tampa, Fla. It began declaration enactment with DIA successful March, taking implicit for San Antonio, Texas-based ISS Facility Services, which had overseen cleaning services for each of DIA’s 26-year past and astatine Stapleton International Airport earlier that.

ISS had faced recurring gripes implicit show and complaints by its subcontractors that it was paying them excessively little. Flagship’s woody was worthy 59% much per twelvemonth than ISS was paid, successful portion due to the fact that of accrued payment costs, caller show standards and incentives for workers.

The ink has lone conscionable dried connected DIA’s declaration with Flagship Aviation Services, based successful San Jose, Calif., which won the airdrome janitorial declaration successful a competitory bid process. It took implicit March 1, absorbing the employees from the anterior contractor.

Workers astatine Friday’s walkout said conditions person declined wide since Flagship took over. Ron Ruggiero, president of SEIU Local 105, said that successful 28 years he’s “never seen workers this aggravated astir however they’ve been treated.”

He said he’s “very confident” the 2 sides volition scope a resolution, but declined to specify precisely what wage level the national is seeking astatine the bargaining table.

“The cardinal issue,” helium said, “is these workers for 18, 19 months person been called heroes by everybody — concern leaders, politicians, the property — and they request to beryllium treated similar that successful this contract. … Well, radical request to beryllium paid similar they’re indispensable and heroic.”

Kiyani said a just wage would person to beryllium astatine slightest $19 oregon $20 an hour.

Asked however agelong the workers are prepared to strike, she said, “as agelong arsenic it takes.”

Denver Post newsman Jon Murray contributed.