Owners win, workers lose at RNC

When Republicans tell you they’re going to create jobs, this is what they mean. The company that provides cleaning services for the convention center hired 40 new workers for the Republican National Convention. Let’s review how this “job creator” pays his workers:

Carolyn Walker said she has been cleaning the convention center for 13 years. She had been making $8 per hour until a few years ago, when the cleaning contract went to another company, Cleanevent USA. The new company meant a new, downsized paycheck. She’s now making minimum wage — $7.67 per hour. But that wasn’t the only hit to her wallet.

Walker said the company charges her $6 per week for uniforms. “It stinks to tell you the truth,” she said. “We work very hard.” It effectively means she’s making less than Florida’s minimum wage.

Larry Gilmore, 32, and Jean Baptiste, 27, recounted similar hits to their paychecks by Cleanevent. Baptiste said he’s charged $11 per week for uniforms — a thin blue short-sleeve shirt and dark pants.

Interestingly, “the new workers, [the owner] said, aren’t getting charged for uniforms, since they aren’t regular employees. Only the longtime, steady employees like Walker are getting charged.”

Florida is a “right to work” state. This is conservative economics at work. Good for business owners, not so good for the workers who make their money for them. [graphic via]

Addendum: In response to comments, Cleanevent USA is a subsidiary company of Spotless, which is “an international services company specialising in outsourced facility management with revenues of around US$ 2.8 billion and operations in 30 countries.” Cleanevent’s CEO, Jason Brock was the WRCS (Waste Recycling Cleaning Snow removal) Manager at the 2002 Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Oympics.