Janitors charge ABM Janitorial Services with racial discrimination

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_4302

6 January 2010

MINNEAPOLIS - American Building Maintenance Janitorial Services, the largest janitorial contractor in the Twin Cities, uses racial discriminatory hiring and pay practices against African Americans and African immigrants, according to charges filed by workers Wednesday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In recent months, ABM sought the assistance of Emerge Staffing to find new employees for numerous vacancies. Emerge is a non-profit organization in North Minneapolis that provides workforce training and job placement for mostly African American and East African, low-income and at-risk people seeking work.

The charges allege that ABM pays African Americans and African immigrants less than their co-workers, and keeps them trapped in a temporary status.

“I have worked full-time for ABM for three months now, and I am paid $2.72 less per hour than my co-workers that were not hired through Emerge,” said Keyla Kahl, an ABM janitor at the Capella Tower in downtown Minneapolis. “They keep telling us that we will be made permanent employees, but they always hire other people instead.”

The charges also include testimony of witnesses to racially discriminatory comments from an ABM supervisor who continues to work in the same building even after the comments were brought to the attention of ABM management.

“The ABM supervisor at my building told us that he didn’t want black people working here, and that’s just wrong,” said Oscar Carranza, an ABM janitor at Ameriprise Financial in downtown Minneapolis. “I think it’s wrong that ABM is paying some janitors less than the rest of us. We all do the same job.”

FULL story at link.