Cleaning workers at a B.C. university are fighting to democratize their union after its executives failed to act on worsening conditions, leading to a coworker’s death on the job.
BEST Service Pro janitors at Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby Campus are highlighting widespread shop floor issues in their campaigns for elected leadership within CUPE Local 3338. They are hoping that the elections, which close on November 25, will allow them to push for more engagement with the rank and file on basic issues and during bargaining with the employer.
The North Star spoke to three workers, Adhya, Preet and Mahi,* who said that the workers only have a fighting chance if their union truly represents their interests.
Adhya, a worker who has been cleaning the campus for more than 10 years, believes that greater worker ownership over the union is the first step in changing things on the shop floor. “Every worker should know that we all have rights. We can speak up. We need to know that we can do something about our working conditions.”
After delays in the nomination process and attempts by incumbent union executives to sideline workers, two janitors seeking to democratize the union are now on the ballot. The workers leading this push have been cleaning SFU’s Burnaby campus for years, some for more than a decade.
Problems in the union local
The workers interviewed said their union must better represent their interests on key shop-floor issues—something they say has not happened under the leadership of the current 3338 executives under president Shaneza Bachus.
Preet says that a group of workers collectively decided to take more ownership over their union a year ago. In May, they tried to raise concerns about overwork and workplace safety to the local’s leadership in an online general meeting. They were denied a chance to be heard as executives repeatedly muted and talked over them.
“Many of us trying to speak up in the meeting, saying that [the workers] wished to nominate themselves [for vacant positions] … but we were muted consistently and throughout the rest of the meeting by Shaneza.”
Less than two months later, Kulbir Kaila, their colleague, died during her shift from overwork. This pushed workers to double their efforts in organizing themselves towards stronger representation within their union.
In an October General Meeting following Kulbir’s death, Mahi says they pressed the executive to explain why election nominations had been delayed for a whole month: “We started naming the bylaws that were being violated because we were not being allowed to speak.”
Those bylaws guarantee their right to nominate candidates.
In response, President Bachus acknowledged that the leadership had not met its obligations and confirmed that the delay constituted a violation of the bylaws. It was only after continued pressure from the rank and file that the executive moved to start the election process this month.
The rank and file’s demands
The upcoming election marks the first time these cleaners have attempted to take on internal leadership roles in 15 years. Workers said that their goal is simple: “Put workers first.”
If elected, Mahi says the candidates will push to ensure workers are educated about their collective agreement and that they are well represented in future bargaining with the employer.
“If we know more about our rights, we can start putting our foot down together and … start saying this is not correct.”
The workers’ demands involve a push for workers’ safety as a number one priority, which includes an end to the brutal conditions of overwork and harassment they have been subjected to. Workers report having to clean an average of 15 storeys every day and are suffering from chronic physical injuries and dangerous levels of stress as a result.
“We are mentally tortured … sometimes we even have to skip our breaks because we keep being called in to do more work than we were initially assigned,” says Adhya.
The workers say their bid is part of a broader goal to rebuild a culture where workers in CUPE 3338, from professionals to cleaning workers alike, are able to demand fair and safe work from their bosses through a strong and democratic union.
*Pseudonyms have been used to protect the workers from harassment.
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