Hundreds of Houston janitors have been on strike since Tuesday. Employed by little-known contractors to clean the offices of big name companies, including Exxon Mobile, Shell Oil, and JP Morgan Chase, these members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) struck nine buildings Tuesday night, and nine more Thursday night. SEIU, which represents 3,200 Houston janitors, says it expects the strike to escalate further.
“The first reason I went on strike is because I wanted to fight for my rights and to stop the intimidation against me and my co-workers,” says Maria Lopez, a janitor for the contractor ABM.
Josh Eidelson 