28. Cintas Employment Problems

WHEREAS, Cintas has been consistently failing to pay its employees the required wages from the employees

corresponding states; it has also denied overtime pay for many years to its drivers; moreover, Cintas has a stated

policy of pushing increase in insurance costs onto its workers; this organization has been found guilty of

illegally firing and disciplining union supporters, threatening workers with plant closures and unlawful

interrogations, among dozens of other charges;

WHEREAS, Cintas employees report earning wages around $7-$9 per hour, which forces many employees to

support their families at a salary below the federal poverty line; employees should not have to worry about how

to pay their bills nor live in poverty; they should get more then 5 to 10 cent raises; and

WHEREAS, the agency should provide affordable health care coverage to all of its employees; many of the

employees have to choose to take insurance and sacrifice paying bills or buying food; Cintas workers should not

have to rest on the hope that their families will remain healthy so that they can afford to buy groceries or pay the

rent;

WHEREAS, the corporation should improve the working environment for its employees so that their safety is

not threatened; two employees have died because of unsafe and illegal working conditions; other workers are

required to work without protective equipment and many of the workers' accidents are covered up by Cintas;

and

WHEREAS, workers should be treated with dignity and respect and not like machines; they should be treated

as partners and as human beings and, as such, they should have the right to make proposals about working

conditions; if attendance policies are deemed unfair or if employees see favoritism, they should be allowed to

raise concerns; and

WHEREAS, Cintas should allow its employees to exercise their rights without fear of intimidation,

punishment, or threats; this agency should remain neutral to employees who demand to be part of a union; and

WHEREAS, workplace hazards increasingly rob a disproportionate number of Latino families their loved ones,

and it is time that companies like CINTAS, which employ a significant number of Latino workers, stop turning

their backs on worker safety and take every step necessary to ensure that employees not only return to their

families each day but also return home healthy; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, THAT LCLAA SUPPORTS UNITE HERE IN THEIR CAMPAIGNS

TOWARDS CINTAS. WE ENCOURAGE THEIR EFFORTS TO UNIONIZE WORKERS UNDER THE

AGENCY AND TO FIGHT FOR BETTER EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS. THESE CONDITIONS

SHOULD INCLUDE MEETING THE LIVING WAGE SET BY THE CITIES ITS WORKERS LIVE IN, AS

WELL AS INCLUDING HEALTH BENEFITS.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, THAT LCLAA WILL EDUCATE AND INFORM ITS MEMBERSHIP,

COMMUNITIES  AND  ALLIES  ABOUT  THIS  IMPORTANT  ISSUE  BY  DISSEMINATING

INFORMATION FOUND ON HTTP://WWW.UNIFORMJUSTICE.ORG/ THROUGH ITS GET ACTIVE

MESSAGE ALERT.