In Nova's haste to get rid of more than 100 hard-working janitors and
landscapers who sought to gain a voice on the job, NOVA hired unscrupulous
companies that do not abide by federal safety regulations and put the health of
the Nova community in danger.
The failure to provide training and
protective equipment to workers who use potentially dangerous chemicals at Nova
Southeastern University has led to a complaint filed with OSHA against the new
companies including TCB Systems, Inc., Excel Maintenance Services, Inc., Planned
Building Services, Exceed Cleaning Services, Inc., and Green Source.
Chemicals used on campus include
Roundup. Components in Roundup are reported to have dangerous effects on the
environment, animals and humans. Roundup's active ingredient is the most common
cause of pesticide illness in landscape workers in a study in California.
Without proper training there is
potential health risks not only for the workers using the chemicals, but also
for students and university members in the vicinity of such chemicals.
Many landscapers and cleaners also
testified they are not given the proper protective equipment, such as gloves and
masks, while using chemicals or machinery.
An OSHA complaint has been filed on
behalf of the workers by SEIU Local 11 against the new companies for failure to
provide workers hazard communication training, failure to provide workers
personal protective equipment, and/or failure to provide workers Material Safety
Data Sheets (MSDS) sheets, all of which are required by law.
Background: Last year, the University announced that it
was putting their facility management contracts out to bid and ending its decade
long relationship with UNICCO Services, after UNICCO workers on campus voted to
form a union. The university replaced UNICCO with smaller contractors forcing
the workers to reapply for their jobs with the new contractors. The new
contractors have refused to hire more than one hundred of the workers and have
refused to recognize the workers legal right to have a union.
Displaced workers have filed charges
with the NLRB against Nova Southeastern and the contractors for trying to thwart
the workers right to a union. While other Universities in South Florida have
raised standards, wages and provided health insurance for the contract workers
on campus, NSU has fought the workers on campus trying to secure living wages,
health benefits and a voice on the job.
Janitors at NSU earn less and have
fewer benefits than their counterparts at other South Florida universities,
including the University of Miami and Florida International University. Janitors
at NSU earn just over $7.00 per hour, far less than the county living wage of
$11.48 per hour. Providing health insurance and higher wages would only cost
the University $1.1 million a year.