Everybody’s looking for the new union movement these days. You can find it in Miami and Miami Beach. Just ask for Leydis Borrero. And you can also see it on the web in a quick “flash” at Screwthiscondo.org.
The flash is funny, but what’s going on in the lucrative luxury condo industry in South Florida is not. Leydis cleaned condos for ten years for Continental Group, the largest employer of condo workers. Her reward for a decade of loyalty and hard work was a paycheck of $7.25 an hour with no health insurance for herself or her four kids. When she joined together with her co-workers for a living wage, training opportunities, and family health care, Continental fired her.
Condo workers are finding out that they have a lot in common with condo residents who also get taken for a ride by property management companies like Continental. Fees keep going up, and Continental's parent company makes money by "cross-selling" additional services such as painting, landscaping, and pool cleaning.
Elected public officials, condo residents, and condo workers have been holding public forums and pushing for legislation requiring licensing, fiscal and ethical standards, and full disclosure of contracting relationships.
That’s the new union movement. Giving a voice to the voiceless. Uniting with community groups for everyone’s benefit. And making sure that working people have the tools and training they need to provide a service they can be proud of.
Check it out at Screwthiscondo.org and CleanCondos.org.
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