Over 100 janitorial staff with student support protested for higher wages and better health insurance Monday, the second-to-last day until their current contract with their contractor expires. 

USC’s janitorial staff members are unionized under the Service Employees International Union’s United Service Workers West chapter and they work under Aramark, a facilities management corporation. Maria Contreras, a SEIU USWW bargaining team representative, said the company doesn’t value their workers. 

“We are part of the USC community,” Contreras said. “We feel welcomed by the Trojan family, but with [Aramark], we feel like they’re not giving us our value or our worth.” 

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The protest started at a chaotic Tommy Trojan, near conservative media personality Charlie Kirk’s event where two individuals were detained. From there, protesters marched off campus, down Jefferson Blvd. to the Facilities Planning and Management building to deliver a letter for University support in negotiations. At the foot of the FPM building, protesters chanted “Justice for janitors,” and “Sí, se puede!” until an unnamed representative came out to accept the letter. 

“We are currently in collective bargaining negotiations with Aramark to improve our wages in the middle of historic rises in the cost of living,” the letter read. “Through our union representatives we continue to bargain in good faith with Aramark. However, we have not been able to come to an amicable resolution and see no option but to take the next steps necessary in trying to resolve this matter.”

Contreras said the union wanted USC FPM’s support in their negotiations because they are in charge of University facilities. 

In a statement to the Daily Trojan, the University wrote that they respect the negotiation process occurring and “wish the parties the best.” 

When asked what will happen if the contract expires, Contreras said there will be more strikes. 

“We don’t want to get to that point,” Contreras said. “It’s going to be hard, but it’s a sacrifice that we need to make in order to get our demands met.”

Contreras said Aramark is not meeting the union’s demands of a livable wage and upgrading their health insurance to a Preferred Provider Organization plan. 

Aramark currently provides USC janitorial staff the Health Maintenance Organization insurance plan, which is one of the cheaper healthcare options in California. It provides a smaller network of healthcare professionals and less freedom when booking specialist appointments compared to a PPO plan.  

USC Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation — an advocacy group not affiliated with the University — attended the rally in support of the janitorial staff.

“We support better working conditions for our janitors. The workers are the ones who keep our university running,” said a media liaison representing USC SCALE who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. “We’re out here today to support the janitor’s demands [to] renegotiate for a contract.”