Re: Medallion's Janitors at Oracle
Date: 29 Jun 93 04:21:06 GMT
Message-ID: <1993Jun29.042106.14045_at_oracle.us.oracle.com>
To: lmilne_at_engin.umich.edu
Subject: Re: Medallion's Janitors at Oracle
Newsgroups: comp.databases.oracle
In-Reply-To: <20o9coINNio2_at_srvr1.engin.umich.edu>
References: <1993Apr30.190307.2614_at_philabs.philips.com>
Organization: Oracle Corporation, Redwood Shores CA
Cc:
Bcc:
If it isn't glaringly obvious, I do not speak for my employer.
In article <20o9coINNio2_at_srvr1.engin.umich.edu> you write:
>I am not familiar with, and so I can't vouch for, the authors of
>this article, which appeared on LABOR-L, a listserv that I subscribe to.
>However, it seemed serious enough to deserve airing here.
>All of us who work in large office buildings might want to think
>and inquire about who's doing the dirty work.
>
>Lynda Milne
>lmilne_at_umich.edu
>
>
[del]
>***Personal Testimony - Mario Rivera - June 23rd,1993***
>
>My name is Mario Rivera. I worked as a janitor for Service by
>Medallion
Service by Medallion is his employer. Don't get me wrong, I agree with some of what JfJ is saying, which my employer probably wouldn't.
>cleaning the Oracle buildings for three years. I am not
>afraid to tell my story only because I no longer work for
>Medallion.
Note that JfJ is not pressuring Medallion to unionize, but pressing Oracle to dump a non-Union shop for a Union one. There are no employees of Medallion in JfJ, yet they claim to represent them. The 'favor' that JfJ is doing for the janitors will simply get the janitors fired.
[del]
>
>I live in San Jose with my wife and four children. We came to the
>U.S. in 1989 because I wanted my children to be able to go to
>school, to be able to improve themselves. My son is just
>finishing high school now. He wants to go to college. He wants
>to study computers or engineering, but we don't know if he'll be
>able to do it; college is very expensive.
>
I'm one of the well paid engineers mentioned below and, heck, I don't think I make enough money to raise four kids and send them to college. And, living in a city with an extremely high cost of living is by no means a basic human right.
>We live in a house with three bedrooms. Now there are almost 20
>people living there because the rent is so high. Sometimes there
>have been up to 30 people living there. Can you imagine the line
>for the bathroom?
>
I'm really sorry about the state of many immigrants to our country
that come here thinking the streets are paved with gold. Then again,
my ancestors did it and it took a few generations to really get
things prosperous. However,
unskilled labor isn't in as much demand as other forms, and will
therefore pay less.
>
>When I worked at Medallion, I didn't have any health insurance.
When I was a contract programmer I didn't have any health insurance. I accepted this because the only employer around was offering that deal. Another offer came along, I quit, and worked for an employer that did offer health insurance.
[del]
>They always treated us badly at Medallion. They made us bring the
>dirty towels and rags to our own homes to wash them.
That seems really cruel and pointless since Medallion runs a mass produced linen service.
>They told us
>we couldn't even heat our food in the microwaves, that we had to
>eat our food cold. They told us that we couldn't eat inside, that
>we should go ouside in the parking lot to eat.
>
Either this is untrue, or it is not enforced, or some details are being left out. The janitors do eat in the buildings and do use the microwaves.
>I hope that people who work for Oracle will realize what it is
>like for the janitors there, because it is the people who work
>there who can make a difference for us.
I've spoken with Oracle's senior VP of Human Resources about some laws that I believe Medallion was breaking, and some of JfJ's concerns were brought up. Although we didn't agree on a lot of things, it struck me that he knew what he was speaking of, and had really done his homework here.
>Martha Aragon, the
>property manager, has to respond to Oracle and what the people at
>Oracle want.
No, Oracle management has to respond to Oracle shareholders. If large chunks of Oracle stock was held by, say, UFW and UAW, Medallion would be long gone. This isn't the case, however, so Oracle hires its contractors by competitive bid.
>
>Oracle Corporation makes $1.2 billion a year, and they are the world's
>largest producer of database software - yet they use one of the most
>abusive janitorial contractors in Silicon Valley. Janitors at Oracle
>make as little as $10,000 per year for full time work and pay as much
>as $3,200 a year for health benefits (for a single parent with two kids).
>Janitors at Oracle report numerous violations of labor and health and
>safety codes, as well as state and federal laws.
If this can be documented, then this should be prosecuted.
>Ironically, Oracle's own
>employees report that Oracle's policies are unusually progressive.
I'd agree with this.
>Unfortunately, its progressive policies have not yet been extended to
>the janitors.
Right. They aren't employees of Oracle. Oracle's progressive policies haven't been extended to people who work at Wendy's either.
>Justice for Janitors
>c/o SEIU Local 1877*186 E.Gish Rd*San Jose*CA*95112*(408) 452-8515
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Now, I think its really generous of these union folks to want Justice for people that don't pay them dues, don't you? I mean, what's in it for them? This is not about "Justice", this is about a noncompetitive union shop wanting to take a contract without having to bid competitively.
>worklife_at_igc.apc.org
>
Received on Tue Jun 29 1993 - 06:21:06 CEST