Janitors’ Union Calls Strike Outside Twitter, Musk Cancels Contract And Fires All Janitors

Janitors hired to clean Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, California, have had their contracts canceled and have been subsequently fired after they organized a strike outside of the social media company’s headquarters.

After new Twitter owner Elon Musk fired 20 janitors, they organized a protest — so Musk decided to fire the rest of them.

Critics of the tech billionaire are outraged that he would dare fire these janitors just weeks before Christmas.

“Our cleaning contractor at Twitter was told by Twitter that they are cutting the contract,” said Olga Miranda, the janitors’ union president. “So we have about 48 families out of work. And it just so happens that it’s three weeks before Christmas.”

A representative from the union that represents the janitors, SEIU Local 87, told left-wing news outlet New Republic that 20 members of the janitorial staff were informed on Friday that they had been fired with no notice.

The representative went on to claim that they were fighting for wages, “benefits and job protections.”

By Monday, SEIU Local 87 had organized a strike against the firings that included the rest of the janitors, arguing that Twitter was violating local cleaning regulations. The union also revealed that they had been locked out of the company headquarters.

On Tuesday, seemingly in response to the protest, Twitter canceled the janitors’ contract.

Critics responded to the social media company’s actions by claiming that he was in violation of local laws. The fired janitors are protesting in front of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, holding signs which read “proud to be a union” and “justice for janitors.”

Meanwhile, the California Labor Federation — which represents 1,200 unions within the state — has spoken out against Twitter’s actions, blasting the social media company in a statement on its official Twitter account.

“Twitter indicates their new contractor will not be rehiring the janitors, despite obligation to rehire per county and state requirements. Twitter doesn’t seem to understand how important it is to keep a clean house and respect the people who take out the trash,” the organization wrote.

Many people responded to the controversy by questioning why there were 48 janitors on staff to clean a building with just three floors, especially considering the fact that, prior to Musk’s takeover, a significant number of Twitter employees didn’t even work in-person.

Meanwhile, many pointed to the insensitivity of firing these employees just before Christmas.

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