Fort Belvoir Janitors Win Back Pay

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)70 janitors at Fort Belvoir will get more than $300,000 in back pay and benefits because the private contractor that employs them failed to pay the correct hourly wage, all required holiday pay, and health and welfare benefits since September, reports The Washington Post. “This was a case of exploitation of people who were thought to be voiceless and had no ability to represent themselves,” Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) told The Post. “That’s inevitably what happens to people who are perceived to be powerless.” SEIU 32BJ said the Fort Belvoir contractor, Atlanta-based Brown & Pipkins, also known as Acsential, reached the back-pay agreement after the Labor Department found workplace violations; five workers illegally fired by the contractor will also get their jobs back. “When we fight, we win!” 32BJ Capital Area District Director Jaime Contreras told Union City. “Workers at Fort Belvoir stayed strong through a long but hard fought battle and they won. They rallied and picketed. They worked with political friends like Jim Moran. They went on strike for their rights. They can now stand proud about their victory.” Meanwhile, Good Jobs Nation continues to urge the Obama administration to take action to ensure that contractors pay workers living wages for low-level jobs in federal facilities. photo: 5/21 strike by workers at federally-contracted companies; photo by Julia Kann