5,000 Janitors to Get Health Benefits in January

About 5,000 low-wage janitors will begin receiving health insurance for themselves and their families Jan. 1 under terms of a hard-won contract signed in 1995. The benefits were hailed as a significant development at a union-sponsored news conference Monday, but the addition of the insurance--valued at $1.60 an hour--for this group of janitors also shows how tough it has been for unions to translate high-profile street action into real gains for low-wage members. About 3,000 janitors at downtown Los Angeles and Century City office buildings who were among the highest-paid at the time of the raucous Justice for Janitors marches of the mid-1990s are still earning $6.80 an hour--the same as in 1995. This group, however, did have health benefits at that time, and they will get a $1-an-hour raise in January. Five thousand janitors in the San Fernando Valley, South Bay and Glendale areas saw their wages jump from $4.25 an hour to $6.80 over the contract period and now will get health benefits for the first time. These terms are part of the master contract signed by owners of about 70% of the major office buildings in Los Angeles County after a series of large demonstrations, street theater and other high-profile tactics in 1995. The contract expires in April. Negotiations are due to start on a new contract in February.