COLUMN: University must step in on custodial staff’s behalf

Earlier this month, custodial workers at USC took to Trousdale Parkway to protest for higher wages and healthcare benefits, as three months have passed since their labor contract ended and negotiations so far have fallen flat. The issue isn’t new. USC’s transition to a subcontractor for its custodial services nearly 20 years ago incited workers’ protests to unionize. Since their unionization in 1997, labor contracts have been contentious, with workers fighting for a living wage and dignity in the workplace.

Workers have been without a contract since late June. It’s time that USC, despite not being a direct employer, steps in on behalf of the custodial staff who work on campus and oversees the negotiation of a fair and proper contract.

USC has subcontracted the custodial services it needs through a company called Aramark since beginning in 2001. You may have heard of them — they supply uniforms, school lunches, labor and other related services to thousands of schools, universities, companies and even prison systems across the country. Aramark negotiates with Services Employee International Union, the labor union that represents workers on campus.

Rather than directly hiring employees, USC hires a third party, who in turn hires custodians to staff the University. The University has no direct involvement to negotiations — which can be problematic. Custodians and related staff have a starting wage at $9.75, which in today’s economy is hardly a livable income. For a full-time worker, that comes out to roughly $1,560 per month or $18,720 per year, excluding benefits. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty line for a family of four in the U.S. is $24,250 per year. That means a custodian at USC who works full-time and may be the sole source of income to support a family of four lives below the poverty line.

At a university that claims to be top-tier and elite, this is grossly unacceptable. In Los Angeles, the median-home value is $378,390, which translates to a roughly $1,820 per month mortgage. To live in a median-valued home in L.A., you’d have to make at least $72,730 per year, according to the California Association of Realtors.

All these numbers and statistics point to one thing — the custodial staff at USC is egregiously underpaid and undervalued. Before USC subcontracted its labor, staff were treated with respect. They used to be given tickets to football games and treated as an integral part of the University.

Janitors keep our campus looking nice and clean. Our campus wouldn’t function without all the maintenance, upkeep and hard work these individuals put in. USC owes it to the custodial staff to apply pressure on  Aramark to negotiate a contract that gives workers a livable wage, acceptable healthcare benefits and the treatment they deserve.

The administration needs to ensure that custodial staff who work on campus are treated fairly and with respect. Two hundred-forty workers are now without a contract, and the University should set a deadline of Oct. 31, four months since the expiration of the last contract, for the two parties to come to a mutual conclusion and contract. The administration, led by the University’s Facilities Management Services, has a responsibility that those who work on campus are treated with a certain standard and degree of professionalism and respect. Union laborers can’t work without a contract and it’s time a contract is negotiated and agreed upon. USC needs to make sure of that.

For the staff who help keep our campus clean, fresh and looking like a cutting-edge school, it’s time USC start acting like one and support the very people who do so.