When you go home and have dinner with your families, I will be cleaning your office, disposing of your waste and yes, cleaning your bathroom. I am your janitor.  

I want to tell you about myself. I came from Ethiopia in 2003. I was a lucky one, winning a visa through the US Department of State’s lottery system. In my home country, there were so many sick people and not enough healthcare professionals. So, when I got here, I started community college to become a nurse or medical technician. But now that I have two children, taking care of my family is the most important thing in my life. That’s why I became a full-time janitor.

Our wages are low; the median income for janitors in King County is just over $30,000. Getting medical benefits for my family gives me some peace of mind, since I know we won’t go broke if one of us gets sick. But we are far from the economic security enjoyed by those with King County’s median household income of $73,035. According to the Alliance for a Just Society, I would have to make $30.61 an hour in order to make a living wage to support my family in Washington. That’s why I also have a second job, which means I have less time to spend with my family. I don’t think it should be necessary to work two jobs just to meet basic needs.

Thanks in large part to our local tech industry, Seattle’s commercial real estate market is one of the top in the nation. As janitors we take pride in playing our part in improving the local economy by maintaining the city’s office buildings and work spaces. This year, commercial building owners are expected to collect over $3.2 billion in rent. For tenants, the cost of janitorial services is pennies compared to the average rent paid per square foot, which has gone up 27 percent over the last four years. Janitors’ wages have only increased by 6.6 percent.

There are good janitorial contractors that work with my union SEIU (Service Employees International Union) to improve working conditions and wages. These contractors are also committed to protecting workers’ rights to organize, prioritizing safety, and supporting sustainable building practices including energy and water efficiency, green cleaning, and recycling.  

SEIU has decades of experience working with owners and property managers to improve standards in commercial office buildings and to protect me from unscrupulous employers. To ensure building owners, managers, and tenants have the information they need to pick a good contractor, we created an easy to use Responsible Contractor Guide. By using a simple green, yellow, and red rating system, you can identify responsible and irresponsible contractors, and those who fall somewhere in the middle.

Across the country, large real estate owners have adopted responsible contractor policies to guide their decisions when hiring cleaning and security contractors at their buildings because it is good for everyone. Workers benefit when responsible contractors pay fair wages and benefits, provide training and career paths, and respect employees’ rights. Tenants appreciate the professional attitude of better-motivated workers and the superior service they provide. Finally, owners and property managers benefit from a more stable workforce, higher productivity, and greater tenant satisfaction.

I am proud of being a member of SEIU, which represents over 3,000 janitors in Washington and 225,000 across the US and Canada. I am a union leader now, and I want to use my position to ensure that all janitors are treated with respect.  

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