Janitors’ Union Chief Hints at Compromise

The president of the union representing striking Los Angeles janitors said Saturday that the union might be willing to compromise at the bargaining table with janitorial contractors.

Mike Garcia, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1877, said that the organization’s current demands for a $1 hourly raise in each of the next three years are fair, but eventually union negotiators may give ground.

“At the end of the day, there may be some giving on our part,” he said. He declined to discuss details, saying, “I will not negotiate in the newspaper.”

His comments came after Cardinal Roger Mahony stepped into the labor dispute Saturday, urging both sides to bring in an impartial mediator to help settle the weeklong strike. Mahony described the workers’ cause as one of “fundamental economic justice.”

“Should the parties be willing to enter into discussions in good faith, I would be willing to offer names of individuals who may be qualified and willing to serve as mediator,” he said.

Garcia said he welcomed Mahony’s offer. “I think it’s the right thing for him to do,” Garcia said. “He’s in a great position in that our members represent his constituency, with a huge amount of Latino workers who are also Catholic.”

A spokesman for the contractors who employ the thousands of striking janitors rejected Mahony’s offer.

“We appreciate his eminence’s concern, but we think he should be spending more time lecturing about the violence emanating from the union,” said Dick Davis, bargaining coordinator for eight of the 18 janitorial services firms targeted by the strike.

The developments came as the janitors took Saturday off after a week of sometimes confrontational protests. The demonstrations will resume Monday.