Unionized cleaners in Springfield rallied outside One Monarch Place, a popular high-rise in the city, on Wednesday, hoping to get answers on their future employment status.
The building's owner, Paul Picknelly, recently switched contractors. The 32BJ SEIU union Vice President Kevin Brown, said the new contractor, Environment Control Connecticut Valley Inc., has not responded to their requests for continued employment.
Brown said they've made several attempts to contact Picknelly and the contractors about whether or not the 14 longtime cleaners of the building are still employed and if their union benefits are still honored, but got no response. Brown said the cleaners are struggling to make ends meet as is.
“Most of them are immigrant workers who are struggling to achieve the American dream,” Brown said. “And by making this switch - sending people back to the minimum wage or near it with few, if any benefits, they're really crushing people's dreams. And that's not a good thing for the Springfield area.”
Brown said the union faced a similar situation with the same contractor in Hartford after the pandemic.
“They replaced all of our members with new employees who made minimum wage with no benefits. So, we think that that's what they're trying to do now here in Springfield. And we're not going to agree to that,” Brown said.
Brown said many of these cleaners have worked in the building for years and just want confirmation they will keep their jobs.
Picknelly and Environment Control Connecticut Valley Inc. did not respond to our request for comment.
