Two events will highlight the concerns of women workers on International Women’s Day:  a rally at the Chicago Board of Trade highlighting low wages for women janitors paid by the highly profitable and tax-favored CME Group; and a hearing in Joliet focused on retaliation against women warehouse workers complaining of sexual harassment, including a case where a complainant was herself arrested.

Janitors represented by SEIU Local 1 will rally at the Board of Trade on Thursday, March 8 at 3:30 p.m. and march from there to the Willis Tower. Contract negotiations are starting for 13,000 area janitors, including 4,000 at downtown office buildings, whose contract expires April 8.

With annual pay ranging from $24,000 to $31,000, area janitors are classified “very low income” under HUD’s standards, and earn $20,000 or more below the Economic Policy Institute’s estimate of the cost of living for a family of four, according to Nell McNamara of Local 1.

The union is casting the issue as one of income inequality, noting soaring salaries and bonuses for CEOs while Chicago has the third highest poverty rate and the highest racial income disparity of any major U.S. city.

Janitors are calling on wealthy corporations “to do their part,” said McNamara.  “When hard-working people have good jobs with benefits, we’ll begin to restore balance to our economy and vitality to our neighborhoods.”

In December the state passed an income tax break worth $85 million a year to CME after the corporation threatened to leave town.  In 2009, Willis Tower benefited when United Airlines got a $31 million TIF subsidy to move its corporate headquarters into the building.

Arrested for complaining

In Joliet, in response to an increasing number of complaints of sexual harassment by women workers at warehouses in the area, Warehouse Workers for Justice is holding a hearing on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Mt. Carmel Church, 205 E. Jackson.

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Workers fired from a Wal-Mart warehouse near Elgin after they filed a lawsuit charging wage theft say the company  has to stop hiding behind subcontractors and take responsibility for correcting legal violations.

Backed by Warehouse Workers for Justice  and joined by community supporters, they’ll deliver a complaint to Wal-Mart representatives at the new Wal-Mart Express store in Presidential Towers tomorrow (Thursday, February 16, 12 noon, Monroe and Jefferson).

In November, workers hired by Eclipse Advantage to staff the Wal-Mart warehouse filed suit charging they were paid below minimum wage and shorted on hours.  On December 29, 65 warehouse workers were informed that Eclipse was being replaced and they were out of a job.

On February 1 they filed a federal class-action lawsuit charging Eclipse had violated the federal WARN Act which requires 60 days notice for a mass layoff.   Their lawyers argue that while they were hired by a temporary agency, they were long-term employees (or “permatemps”). They also amended the original lawsuit, charging that they had been fired in retaliation for complaining about wage theft, in violation of state law.

They’re now filing a formal complaint with Wal-Mart charging that its subcontractor violated the company’s code of conduct for suppliers and demanding that workers be hired back and paid the wages they’re owed.

Corrective actions

Earlier, Wal-Mart seemed to suggest that Eclipse was replaced in response to workers’  allegations.

“We hold all of our vendors to high standards, and our expectation is they comply with all applicable laws,” spokesperson Greg Rossiter told WBEZ. “Our vendors, such as Schneider, may take whatever corrective actions may be necessary.”  Schneider manages Wal-Mart’s warehouse and contracted with Eclipse for personnel services.

Warehouse workers aren’t buying that.

“Somebody has to pay these workers the money they are owed,” said Mark Meinster of WWJ.  “If the firing was retaliatory, Wal-Mart has to correct the situation. Just putting these people out on the street is not a solution.”

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A fourth lawsuit alleging wage theft at a Wal-Mart warehouse in Will County was filed in federal court November 18.

Workers hired by Eclipse Advantage to staff Wal-Mart’s warehouse in Ellwood, Illinois, charge they were paid less than minimum wage or shorted on their hours – and in some cases both.

“I worked 21 hours for Eclipse my first week and was paid $57 for it,” said Roberto Gutierrez.  “The company says I only worked 12 hours, by even by their logic I was still paid less than minimum wage.

Warehouse Workers for Justice led dozens of warehouse workers who demonstrated at the Wal-Mart warehouse Monday, demanding that payment records be released.

The suit is the fourth filed by WWJ on behalf of Wal-mart warehouse workers since 2009.  The other suits are pending.

“We’ve seen a spike” of wage theft complaints during the pre-holiday season peak this year, said Mark Meinster of WWJ.

In recent months, California state labor investigators have fined two Wal-Mart contractors over $1 million for violations there, he said.