Twitter Office Janitors Strike, Contract Gets Terminated

According to CBS News in San Francisco, Twitter office janitors who belong to Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 87 went on strike early Monday morning, December 5, after the social media company failed to negotiate a new contract with Flagship Facility Services, the janitorial company that employs them. Workers picketed outside Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters throughout the day with signs asking for “Justice for Janitors.”

In a tweet by SEIU Local 87, the union wrote that the workers were “fighting for the pay, benefits, and job protections they need to take care of their families.”

The California Labor Federation tweeted that Twitter had terminated the contract and accused it of not rehiring the janitors “despite an obligation to rehire per county and state requirements.” The federation further stated, “Twitter doesn’t seem to understand how important it is to keep a clean house and respect the people who take out the trash.”

The terminated janitors are the latest in a string of labor layoffs over the last five-and-a-half weeks by new Twitter owner Elon Musk that, according to Forbes.com, have removed about half of Twitter’s staff and have led to a number of lawsuits by fired workers.