Justice for Janitors

On June 15, 1990, the Los Angeles police attacked a peaceful demonstration of janitors and their supporters in the tony Century City district of Los Angeles. Local 399 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was seeking a union contract for the workers who clean the huge, glittering office towers that dominate this part of the city. The SEIU’s “Justice for Janitors” (J4J) campaign had been underway in L.A. for about two years, and this was one of many such demonstrations tha...