Twitter’s janitors called a strike outside the company’s headquarters, causing new boss Elon Musk to fire them all and cancel their contract.
The janitors were protesting outside the HQ in San Francisco, California after 20 of their colleagues were fired during the company’s recent major workforce culls.
However, when the remaining janitors in the SEIU Local 87 union called a strike on Monday, they were all fired.
Twitter also terminated its contact with the company that hired the janitors.
“Our cleaning contractor at Twitter was told by Twitter that they are cutting the contract,” said Olga Miranda, union president for the janitors.
“So we have about 48 families out of work.
“And it just so happens that it’s three weeks before Christmas.”
A representative from SEIU Local 87 told the New Republic that 20 janitors were told on Friday that they were fired with no notice and that they were fighting for wages, “benefits, and job protections.”
By Monday, the union organized a strike with the rest of the janitors against the firings, saying the company was violating local cleaning regulations.
They also said they were locked out of the building.
BREAKING: SEIU Local 87 Janitors at Twitter HQ went on strike at 6am today. Picket line starting at 12 noon, 1355 Market St. in San Francisco. #TakeOnTheTwit pic.twitter.com/IluPUtLAaY
— California Labor Federation (@CaliforniaLabor) December 5, 2022
After Twitter canceled the contract with the janitors on Tuesday, Musk’s critics claimed that he was in violation of local laws.
The unemployed janitors are protesting in front of Twitter headquarters while holding signs that read “proud to be union” and “justice for janitors.”
The California Labor Federation, which represents 1,200 California unions, decried the action in a statement on its Twitter account.
“Twitter doesn’t seem to understand how important it is to keep a clean house and respect the people who take out the trash,” it said.
Other employees fired from Twitter said they were filing lawsuits against Elon Musk after he insensitively fired them and caused so much pain and anguish.
“The way Elon Musk executed the layoffs was really inhumane,” said former employee Amir Shevat.
“At a certain point, I was told that, as a manager, that I might get fired if I just gathered my team just to answer questions.”
“He chose to fire so many of us during a difficult time period in the tech industry,” said Adrian Trejo Nunez, another former employee.
They are suing for severance packages that were promised before Musk’s acquisition of Twitter but which were not delivered to the fired employees.
