‘Justice for Janitors’ march downtown may presage strike

Hundreds of unionized janitors and their supporters marched Friday through the streets of downtown Los Angeles in a sign of solidarity in advance of a contract-negotiation deadline that could lead to a strike as early as next week.

Wearing red and purple union shirts and carrying signs proclaiming “Justice for Janitors,” the march began with a gathering at Grand Park then made its way along Grand Avenue.

The more than 20,000 statewide janitors represented by the Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West have already authorized a strike if a contract agreement is not reached.

The union’s contract with various building-management companies expires Saturday.

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor has already proclaimed its support of the janitors and a possible strike, which officials said could begin as early as Monday if a labor agreement is not reached.

— City News Service