On Tuesday, the Santa Clara City Council made history by becoming the first city in Silicon Valley to pass a worker retention ordinance. This ordinance, which received unanimous support from the City Council, will provide job security for food and building service workers in the city. Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Vice Mayor Dominic Caserta lead the efforts by introducing the language of the ordinance at the end of January. Caserta was drawn to the issue last year when he met with tech cafeteria workers and heard about their job security concerns.
Frequent replacement of food and building service contractors by companies has caused unstable work and living situations for subcontracted service workers in this high-cost region, where losing a paycheck can be devastating. When offices and entertainment venues make changes to food and building services by changing contractors, service workers often lose their jobs in the transition.
This ordinance, which applies to offices and entertainment venues that use food service, janitorial, and security services, and includes some exemptions for small business, addresses that issue. If a company or venue decides to switch food or building service contractors, to move service operations in-house, or to contract out formerly in-house operations, the ordinance requires the successor contractor (or new service provider) to retain employees for at least a 90-day transition period.
The ordinance was supported by: UNITE HERE Local 19, the union representing hotel and food and beverage workers in the South Bay; SEIU USWW, the union representing janitors and security guards in California; Silicon Valley Rising; the South Bay Labor Council; and other community members and organizations.
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