Janitors Struggle to Make California Supermarkets Safe, Clean, and Green

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 By Rachele Huennekens
SEIU-United Service Workers West

Monoethanolamine: can cause severe eye and respiratory irritation and produce chemical burns on the skin. 2-Butoxyethanol: a carcinogen whose airborne vapors are easily absorbed by human skin, known to cause liver and kidney damage and possibly linked to reproductive problems including reduced fertility, death of embryos and birth defects. Chlorine: corrosive, irritating to the eyes, skin, and respiratory system, and fatal if ingested.

Sound appetizing?

And yet, these chemicals are ingredients in conventional industrial cleaning products that are commonly used to clean the Northern California supermarkets our families rely on for food.

Janitors who clean Northern California Safeway, Save Mart, and Lucky supermarkets regularly report negative health consequences from using floor strippers and other industrial cleaning products containing these chemicals. Janitors experience headaches, running noses, itchy, peeling, skin, trouble breathing, watery or burning eyes, dizziness, and nausea. 

Health problems are aggravated by inadequate safety training and lack of safety equipment such as goggles, industry-strength rubber gloves, or protective shoes. In a survey of the supermarket janitors conducted by the janitors’ union, SEIU-United Service Workers West, Local 1877, 66 percent reported they have never received any type of safety equipment or training on safely mixing/using cleaning chemicals, and 50 percent said they are instructed to regularly use toxic chemicals in enclosed, unventilated areas such as bathrooms, freezers, and break rooms.

Scientific evidence suggests that supermarket shoppers may also be at risk for these health consequences. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, many household and industrial cleaning products contain Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), airborne toxins that can linger in the air for long periods of time and cause harm to human health if inhaled or absorbed by the skin. Over the long-term, exposure to VOCs may contribute to cancer, respiratory diseases, heart disease, and reproductive problems.

VOCs and toxic ingredients in conventional cleaning chemicals may also threaten food safety, if food in the supermarkets comes into contact with chemicals. And VOCs cause environmental damage, combining with other pollutants in the atmosphere to create harmful ground-level ozone, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming and is a key component of smog.

But there is some good news for health-conscious and environmentally friendly supermarket shoppers. Northern California janitors are campaigning to convince supermarket chains Safeway and Save Mart (owner of Lucky) and janitorial contractors to drop their toxic cleaning products and adopt new ‘Green Cleaning’ standards.

Research shows that Green Cleaning standards help protect the environment, workers’ health, and thwart diseases that can be spread by cross-contamination. According to the International Facility Management Association, certified green cleaning products are “as effective as, and possibly superior to, conventional cleaning products...and are proven safer for the users, building occupants and visitors.” 

Organizations such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the U.S. EPA Design for the Environment program, and the San Francisco Department of the Environment have developed certification systems for green cleaning products.

And support for green cleaning grew in Sacramento in early 2009, when Senate Bill 443 (Pavley), which would implement an official California EPA assessment of hazards related to the use of cleaning chemicals in supermarkets, moved through committee.

In negotiations for a new union contract, more than 650 Northern California janitors have proposed basic Green Cleaning measures including certified environmentally-friendly cleaning products, worker safety equipment, comprehensive training on the use, mixing and storage of cleaning chemicals, and Worker Safety Committees.

The Green Cleaning proposals also encompass fair workloads, decent wages, and family healthcare benefits for the janitors, standards that are intrinsically tied to the health of janitors and their families, and the safety of foods they work with. Currently, Safeway and Save Mart janitors make poverty wages of just $8-11 per hour, and face reductions in work hours and pressure from managers to cut corners in cleaning work.

Based on the effort Safeway and Save Mart expend marketing themselves as “sustainable,” “ethical,” and “green,” one would think the supermarkets would eagerly accept these Green Cleaning proposals. In addition to a glossy web page dedicated to the company’s “commitment to the environment,” Safeway held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Earth Day 2009 in Santa Cruz unveiling its first store designed to meet LEED building certification standards, and circulated a press release touting its inclusion in a think tank’s list of the “world’s most ethical companies.”

Save Mart has promoted its line of reusable, recycled plastic “Bring Back Bags” since 2007, hosted electronic waste recycling events at its Northern California stores, and ballyhooed its organic-waste composting and recycling programs.

But when it comes to adopting Green Cleaning standards for the benefit of janitorial employees and customers, it seems that Safeway and Save Mart are unwilling to act on their commitment to ethics and sustainability. Since bargaining began in September, the supermarkets and contractors have refused to meet with janitors in a frequent, timely manner, or engage in industry-wide discussions. The markets have also stalled on responding to the Green Cleaning proposals.

Enough is enough. The longer supermarkets postpone discussions over Green Cleaning, the worse the consequences for janitors, other supermarket workers, and the public.

Green cleaning is more than a trend — it is a necessary move towards protecting our communities and food supply. As industry leaders, Safeway and Save Mart have a responsibility to negotiate with their union janitors over standards to make the Northern California supermarket industry safe, clean, and green.
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Rachele Huennekens works for the SEIU-United Service Workers West, which represents janitors, security officers, maintenance and other workers throughout California.