In surprise move, Ramsey County adds nonunion janitorial firms, displacing union workers

Ramsey County starting Monday will use nonunion janitorial firms next week for the first time in decades.

The county opened its contract to new bids in April and by June decided to use four cleaning companies instead of one. Three of the new companies are nonunion.

The move displaces 19 employees who work for the unionized shop Triangle Services, which was the only provider under the old contract. Starting Monday, Triangle will clean only the county’s Metro Square building on 7th Place in downtown St. Paul, a job that requires just four workers, union officials said.

The employees and their union, SEIU Local 26, are upset by the move and worried they are now out of a job plus employee retirement benefits that were newly won under a hard-fought contract passed in February.

Affected employees said they were notified three weeks ago.

About 25 cleaners and their supporters attended a Ramsey County Board meeting last week and attempted to testify about their concerns but were asked to leave because the board was not dealing with the topic of cleaning contracts.

County officials said the change in contracts, made by the property-management division, did not require board approval.

Division managers “decided to have multiple contractors instead of one to ensure there would be backup in case any single contractor is unable to take care of a building. It also makes it possible for smaller, underutilized companies to receive a contract when they do not have the capacity to provide service to all county buildings,” said county spokesman Casper Hill in an email.

The new contractors are expected to pay prevailing wages, he said. Triangle employees currently make $20 an hour.

Under the new contracts, Kimbal Services will clean the county’s seven libraries starting Aug. 12.

Starting Aug. 5, PK Property Services will replace Triangle at five locations including the medical examiner’s offices and the Juvenile and Family Justice Center.

PK Property Services co-owner Andrew Beckfeld said his shop is nonunion and that former Triangle workers “are more than welcome to come down to our office and interview” for a job at his 100-worker shop. If they pass a background check and are recommended by the county, “it makes our lives easier” when it comes to hiring, Beckfeld said.

Squeaky Services, which already cleans for several high schools and the Cottage Grove police and fire departments, will take over cleaning Ramsey’s Law Enforcement Center, Emergency Communications Center and the Urgent Care Adult Mental Health buildings.

Squeaky manager Shary Miranda said she will need six to eight workers to fulfill the Ramsey contract. She could pull from her existing staff of 50 to cover the job but is open to new hires as well, she said. Right now, wages are expected to be $21 and $22 an hour. Health insurance benefits could be added in the near future, she said.

SEIU Local 26 spokeswoman Amelia Pedrego said the county’s decision to use nonunion shops was a “mistake” and hurts mid-career and older workers who have cleaned county buildings for years.

“Workers deserved more notice and they just deserved more,” Pedrego said. “These are the very workers who kept these building clean for years. ... It is just a shame that this happened this way.”

Gladys Carrasquillo, 66, told county commissioners on July 23 that she had cleaned buildings for 20 years, 10 of them for the county.

“What makes me most nervous is the possibility of losing my job at this age in my life. The cost of bills is very expensive. Rent is very expensive. And I need health insurance to cover the cost of the medicine I take daily,” she said. “Without union health care, I don’t know how I am going to be able to afford the cost. I am going to be forced to go on welfare.”