Eleven former Twitter cleaners at its New York City offices filed a lawsuit against the company on Tuesday. They claim they are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars for back pay and damages following their abrupt termination in December.
The Manhattan Federal Court ruled that the company had violated New York City regulations that prevented union workers from being replaced for at least three months by employees of another cleaning company. The company that was sued was also sued.
Four dozen janitors lost their jobs in San Francisco at Twitter’s headquarters early in December. After being dismissed, the California employees protested in front of their former workplace. They claimed that local and state laws required the new contractor to retain workers for at least 60 days.
Twitter responded to an email asking for a comment on Tuesday with a response that was automated and did not include any comments.
Former Twitter cleaning workers in New York filed a lawsuit seeking an immediate court order to reinstate them for 90 days at least, as well as back wages and damages.
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The lawsuit claimed that the workers had been fired on December 19, leaving them with “no employment the night before Christmas.”
The lawsuit stated that “as a consequence of Twitter’s action, Plaintiffs were rendered jobless on Christmas Eve and forced several of them cancel or severely cut back their holiday celebrations.”
Eight of the eleven full-time employees, who earn up to $31 per hour, have worked at the facility since 2015. They had to clean the kitchens and common areas and sweep and mop the floors.
The workers were members of Local 32BJ, a branch of the Service Employees International Union. This union represents over 20,000 cleaners in about 800 New York City buildings.
Cargill, Tyson Foods, and JBS all terminated their contracts with PSSI in at least some of the plants they operate — especially any plants where Labor Department inspectors found children working. Cargill took it a step further and completely cut off ties with Kieler, Wisconsin. Smithfield Foods said that it was reviewing its contracts with PSSI to make sure that labor laws were being adhered to. PSSI cleans approximately one-third of the 45 plants owned by Smithfield.
These four companies, together with National Beef, control more than 80% of the beef and pork markets in the United States. National Beef did not respond to any questions regarding its actions.
Cargill spokesperson April Nelson stated that the company informed PSSI of the termination of all 14 contracts in March because “we will never tolerate the use underage workers within our facilities or supply network.”
Officials from Tyson and JBS also reiterated that they are committed to eliminating child labor in their plants and said that each company had terminated PSSI contracts for several plants. They declined to give specific numbers on how many contracts were cut or how many plants PSSI still cleans for them.
Dan Turton is a senior vice president at Tyson. In a letter addressed to Congress members, Dan Turton stated that Tyson Foods was committed to complying with all labor laws. He said Tyson would increase its audits of its contractors and work with federal officials to make sure its hiring met all standards.
Major meat processors have said they want to do more cleaning in-house but will continue to use contractors in most cases. Tyson, for example, stated that its workers clean around 40% of its facilities.
PSSI refused to say how many employees it laid off following the loss of contracts. However, the way the company describes itself on its site suggests that there have been job losses. PSSI says that it now has 16,500 employees in more than 400 facilities, down from more than 17,000 workers it claimed last fall. It remains one of the largest cleaners in food processing plants.
PSSI claims it goes above and beyond the requirements of an official court order to ensure that no children are employed there. The company, owned by the New York-based private equity firm Blackstone, has a new chief executive officer who took over the position last week after the previous CEO retired after a 24-year tenure.
PSSI brought in a former U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent to strengthen its training for its managers to detect identity theft. It also hired an ex-Labor Department official to perform monthly, unannounced audits of its practices. The company has also created a hotline where employees can anonymously report concerns.