RTD’s board of directors adopted a “worker supportive” policy Tuesday night that ensures janitorial contractors hired by the agency will pay their full-time workers at least $10.50 an hour and provide them health insurance.
Regional Transportation District directors voted 9-2 for the plan that calls for the agency to reimburse janitorial companies that win cleaning contracts up to $235 a month per employee to cover health insurance premiums.
A new contract under the plan will include facilities such as RTD headquarters, Union Station and the Market Street and Civic Center bus depots.
The program was promoted by Service Employees International Union Local 105, which represents about 3,000 janitors in the Denver area.
About 95 percent of the janitorial work in downtown Denver is unionized, said Local 105 president Mitch Ackerman.
The vote “raises the bar of the contracting process and ensures best value to the public and the best outcome for workers and their community,” Ackerman said.
He noted that RTD’s policy doesn’t guarantee only unionized janitorial contractors will win the cleaning work, but it does “ensure that RTD doesn’t undercut the standard that 95 percent of the industry has.”
The measure backed by RTD directors includes a provision that calls on companies winning new janitorial contracts to meet with and consider hiring workers who had cleaned under the old contract.
Director Wally Pulliam, who voted against the measure, said it amounted to “social engineering” and could have “unintended consequences” for RTD in future negotiated contracts.
But director David Rose said it was good for RTD to take leadership in trying to improve working and living conditions.
RTD’s current janitorial contractor is unionized and pays $7.90 to $10.25 an hour, for an average hourly wage of $9.10.
Raising wages and health benefits reduces the turnover that has plagued the janitorial industry, Ackerman said.
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-820-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
