MEDIA ADVISORY - PRESS CONFERENCE (xxx) TODAY (xxx)

Cleaner illegally terminated at the University of Alberta for standing up for labour rights with co-workers, complaint says

Temporary foreign workers threatened with being sent home, amongst violations outlined in complaint filed with the ALRB

U of A cleaning contractor Bee Clean, sued for over $25,000 in unpaid wages

    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    WHAT:  Press Conference: J4J at UofA

    WHEN:  Friday October 1, 2010
           10:00 am

    WHERE: Campus Tower Suite Hotel
           16th Floor Meeting Room
           11145 - 87 Ave.,
           Edmonton, AB T5J 4B5

    WHO:   - U of A Janitors - Employed by Bee Clean
           - RECENTLY ADDED: Rachel Notely -MLA for Edmonton Strathcona
           - Yessy Byl, Foreign Worker Advocate
           - Amy Kaler, PhD, U of A Faculty
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    

(PHOTO OP) A group of workers will be available for a photo at the conference

EDMONTON, Oct. 1 /CNW/ - Bee Clean Building Maintenance employees working under the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program at the University of Alberta say their employer threatened to send them home to the Philippines if they attempted to form a union or contact the Ministry of Labour.

Tarik Accord, not a TFW, has been illegally terminated according to an Unfair Labour Practice, filed with the Alberta Labour Relations Board. "I knew I was being fired for trying to make our jobs fairer and our lives better," Accord says.

The cleaners at U of A have had ongoing concerns related to pay and other issues. Approaching the employer to address the issues has only resulted in threats and lead to terminations.

U of A janitors have not been dissuaded by Bee Clean's threats and have decided to take their plight public.

Justice for Janitors

Justice for Janitors (J4J) is a workers' movement with broad-based support from the public as well as religious, community and elected leaders.

Together we work to provide better wages, benefits, and job security for janitors who clean universities and colleges, office towers and other luxurious buildings, yet make poverty wages.

For over twenty years SEIU's J4J movement has helped low-wage workers achieve respect at work and build a better future for our families.

The Service Employees International Union is the largest and fastest growing union in North America, with 100,000 workers in Canada and two million workers across Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico.

For further information: Merryn Edwards, 780-910-1951