Janitors open door to peaceful negotiations

Unity, organization, determination and peaceful negotiations were the keys to their victory. The red-shirted men and women marched, carried signs and sacrificed together as a group. No shots were fired, no arrests were made, no stores were looted and no cars were burned.

Although they will receive less than the $1 an hour increase they requested, they won, and in winning have set a precedent for future strikers.

These underpaid, overworked people deserve more than the 30 to 70 cents an hour increase, but the little they did win sends a message to employers that without the seemingly insignificant service worker, their businesses can't run efficiently.

Salaries for service workers such as janitors, clerical workers, food servers, teachers and travel industry workers are traditionally lower than technical and management jobs. The reasoning is that more skills and training are required and should be rewarded with more money.

However, the people at the bottom of the salary ladder create the base for the higher paid workers. The top of the ladder should be rewarded with pay according to their skills, but there should not be such a discrepancy in pay levels. No one should have to work longer hours for wages that still fall below the poverty level.

For years, workers have paid dues to union funds and have not received representation in their fights for better wages and working conditions. That changed with the janitors' strike when several unions united to support the janitors' efforts with money, food and staff.

The janitors have shown the world that a fight to gain a right, whether it is a salary increase, a political issue, gun control, or women's rights, can be done without violence. It's all about banding together and showing strength.

Mike Garcia, president of the Service Employees International Union, Local 1877 pointed out that "this is the beginning of a new era for organized labor." He's right. The janitors have reopened the door to organized, peaceful strikes and negotiations.

If a group of the some of the lowest paid workers can win a wage war without violence, the huge organizations known as world governments should follow their example and avoid bloody wars.