Twitter Office Janitors Go On Strike

Topline

Elon Musk’s stated vision of cleaning up Twitter appeared to hit another snag of sorts Monday, at least in terms of office hygiene, as a group of janitors contracted to clean the company’s San Francisco headquarters went on strike and picketed outside the building.

Key Facts

Janitors with the union SEIU Local 87 demonstrated outside the offices, claiming they will be laid off at the end of the week after the tech giant did not negotiate a new contract with FlagShip, the janitorial company that employs them (FlagShip did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes).

The union janitors’ strike began at 6 a.m. Pacific time Monday, with picketing going on throughout the afternoon, according to the California Labor Federation, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO representing around 1,200 local unions across the state.

The state labor federation has accused Twitter of moving on to a new cleaning contractor despite an “obligation to rehire per county and state requirements.”

It’s not clear which janitorial company Twitter intends to work with going forward or if any workers were brought in as replacements during the strike—Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.

Crucial Quote

“Twitter doesn’t seem to understand how important it is to keep a clean house and respect the people who take out the trash,” the California Labor Federation tweeted.

Key Background

A janitor strike is just the latest dilemma for Twitter in the whirlwind five-and-a-half weeks since Musk’s $44 billion deal to buy the company closed. One of his first moves as owner was to lay off about half the company’s staff, leading to a series of lawsuits from dismissed workers who claim the billionaire did not follow proper protocol in making the job cuts. His decisions to slash jobs and significantly curtail content moderation practices appear to have spooked both major advertisers and some regulators. Chipotle, Ford and General Mills are among the companies pulling back ads, leading Musk last week to make an lucrative offer of a 100% match on up to $1 million in advertising spending in a bid to bring ad dollars back. The lax moderation tactics and abrupt moves to reinstate banned accounts like former President Donald Trump’s reportedly led European officials last week to threaten a Twitter ban in the European Union if the company continues on its current path.

Further Reading

Twitter Reportedly Unveils Lucrative Plan To Win Back Fleeing Advertisers As Musk Begs People To Tweet More (Forbes)

EU Threatens Twitter Ban Unless Musk Ramps Up Moderation Tactics, Report Says (Forbes)

Elon Musk Reinstates Donald Trump’s Twitter Account After Asking Users To Vote (Forbes)

Ex-Twitter Employees Begin Lawyering Up To Face Elon Musk (Forbes)