Justice for Janitors

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Justice for Janitors (JfJ) is a social movement that fights for janitors’ rights in the United States and Canada. It began on June 15, 1990, after janitors were paid very low wages and had little health care. Today, JfJ includes more than 225,000 janitors in many cities across the U.S. and Canada. Members push for higher pay, better working conditions, health care, and more full-time jobs.

JfJ campaigns are part of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which helps organize these efforts. SEIU uses a geography-based, bottom-up style of organizing, grouping workers by region to make their power stronger. The movement often works with the companies that hire janitors to reach fair deals and protect workers’ jobs.

The tactics of Justice for Janitors come from the civil rights era. Organizers use marches, street demonstrations, hunger strikes, blockades, and strong partnerships with churches and immigrant and community groups. The Los Angeles campaign in 1990 began with a peaceful janitors’ march, and by the mid-1990s unionization in LA grew a lot, helped by deep ties with immigrant communities and local leaders. This showed that when workers and communities join together, they can win big changes beyond just one building.

In Washington, D.C., a 1995 wave of demonstrations and civil disobedience led to hundreds of arrests as janitors pressed for fair pay and broader city improvements. The movement adopted the rallying cry “¡Sí se puede!” and expanded into a broader mass movement.

JfJ uses market-wide master contracts, meaning one contract can cover all janitors in a city or region. This helps workers share gains. The campaigns spread to other places, including Houston and the University of Miami. In Houston (2005–2006), contractors began recognizing SEIU as the majority representative. The University of Miami campaign (2006) won wage increases and health benefits after student and clergy involvement and hunger strikes. Boston also saw major actions in 2002 and later efforts at schools like MIT, achieving higher pay and benefits in some cases.

Critics point to concerns about how some unions run elections and negotiate, including “trigger agreements” that some worry give too many concessions to contractors. Some also say that SEIU’s regional organization can reduce opportunities for rank-and-file members to participate. Despite these criticisms, Justice for Janitors is seen as a leading force in organizing workers—especially immigrant women—within the broader labor movement, using community-based tactics to win better pay and benefits for janitors.