Immigrant janitors say Hennepin County layoffs may have been age discrimination

More than a dozen union members marched into the Hennepin County Government Center on Monday to hand-deliver a demand letter to the county.

Their plea was simple — “Let’s get our jobs back.”

The group organized by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 26 included seven janitors with a combined 180 years of experience who had recently been laid off from their jobs at the building.

The majority of affected workers are immigrants, according to the union.

Mercedes Ponce, one of the affected workers, has cleaned bathrooms and offices at the Hennepin County Government Center for the last 12 years. Others in the group have worked as janitors in the building since the 1990s.

Ponce teared up as she expressed the pride she felt for her job. She said through a translator that everything changed on Aug. 27, when workers were given notice their jobs were being cut.

“Now I have a lot of stress and I’m here for answers and to get my job back,” she said before joining her group marching into the building.

Kleen-Tech won the contract to clean the building after the county declined to renew a contact with ABM, Diaz said.

Both contractors are members of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Contract Cleaners Association, which has a bargaining agreement with the union.

Diaz said it’s rare to see significant layoffs during a contract change with another employer covered by the bargaining agreement with the union. Usually the only change in the transition is the company name on the employee uniforms.

“It is incredibly unusual the amount of employees that were not retained,” Diaz said. “It’s totally unusual and that’s why the county should have to answer for that.”

According to SEIU Local 26, the Government Center lost about a third of its janitorial workforce.

The union said it’s unclear whether Kleen-Tech or Hennepin County would fill the vacancies left by the seven janitorial workers.

Diaz said the workers are directing their concerns to the county because they were told that Hennepin County was responsible for choosing who would be let go.

“Let us be clear, at the very same time that our federal government is targeting and attacking immigrant workers, our county should be our safeguard. Hennepin County has claims that it will stand up to the federal government and protect immigrant workers. Well, it’s time for them to start acting like it,” Diaz said.

Affected workers alleged discrimination on Monday and said ageism could have been a factor in their jobs being cut.

Workers have already begun filing inquiries with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, raising concerns about age discrimination, Diaz said.

“Kleen-Tech hired ten individuals previously employed by ABM and providing services in the Government Center,” she said.

None of the affected workers had previous documented disciplines, according to the union.

Kleen-Tech did not respond to a request for comment.

On Friday, Rainier Partners, a Seattle-based private equity firm, announced in a news release it had acquired Kleen-Tech.

Kleen-Tech CEO Brad Brandt said in the release that the move would help the janitorial service provider “accelerate” the company’s growth.