Hundreds of janitors and protesters took to marching the streets of downtown Los Angeles Thursday raising their voices against wage theft, harassment, and economic exploitation in the industry.
The Ya Basta! –or, enough is enough– protest started at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street, and finished off with a rally at Pershing Square.
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) called for an end to social inequities and hostile attitudes toward the largely female workforce it says is disproportionately the target of abuse and harassment in the janitorial field.
SEIU's website, reports that of its more than 2 million members representing dozens of occupations, over a quarter identify as immigrants, 40 percent are minorities, and 50 percent are women.
"This industry is 70 percent women. And immigrant women," said SEIU USWW President David Huerta. "Today is really saying, 'enough is enough,'"
The march marked the beginning of several contract talks with property maintenance contracting companies. Participants in the march also protested to secure the renewal of their contracts.
"There's a certain pride in doing your work just like everybody else," said SEIU Vice President Anton Farmby. "You do your job, and you're expected to be treated with dignity and respect, you expect to be paid properly."
Ya Basta! marches also took place the same day in Sacramento. Two additional protests will take place Feb. 26 in San Jose and Orange County.
You can reach reporter Rebecca Sai here. You can also follow her on twitter.
Annenberg Media