Laureta, a single mother and janitor for years at Twitter’s New York offices, would like Elon Musk, one of the world’s richest people and the social media giant’s new owner, to know how much he has ruined his Christmas.
Like other janitors at Twitter – and many other employees at the struggling company, which has laid off thousands of employees – she said she was never given an explanation for her sudden dismissal.
“I was so happy working for Twitter. I was able to pay my bills, find babysitters for my kids. Now it’s a nightmare for me. I don’t know how I’m going to do it or what is going to happen,” said Laureta, who did not want her last name used for fear of future employment consequences. “There was no explanation. We worked on Monday the 19th and that evening we received the message. It was shocking just before Christmas. We did not have a good vacation. No Merry Christmas, no Happy New Year, we were thinking about our jobs and if we were going back to them.
She described having had to try to explain to her six-year-old son what happened and try to reassure her concerns about food now that she has been made redundant. She has no income and will lose the health insurance for herself and her children that she relied on through her job at the end of this month.
“I want to go back to work and I want to know why Elon Musk is getting rid of us,” she added. “It’s not fair that Elon Musk got rid of me and all my colleagues.”
She is one of 12 janitors at Twitter’s 245-249 West 17th St location in New York City protesting the social media company’s sudden decision to fire all janitors, who were employed by contractor Flagship Services , the latest layoffs at Twitter since Musk took over the company on October 27, 2022.
On January 10, the workers with their union, 32BJ SEIU, protested outside Twitter’s offices in New York demanding an explanation and the return of their jobs.
The workers received a notice from Twitter on the evening of December 19 that the contract with their employer and their jobs were being terminated, effective immediately. They say that in previous cases where a contractor had been changed, Twitter had retained the same employees who had worked at Twitter since 2015.
Merita, another janitor who has worked at Twitter’s New York offices since they opened in 2015, also criticized the layoffs, particularly the impact of losing health insurance, which she relies on for medication for life. stomach she needs regularly.
“They told us at work at the last minute. We didn’t know anything. It was a shock for us. We left the building crying because we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Merita said. “It’s quite difficult because we live paycheck to paycheck to pay the bills. We’re very afraid of losing health insurance. I’m on medication. We need health insurance, that’s why we have to fight to get our jobs back in order to have our union, our health care, everything.
Earlier in December, Twitter suddenly laid off janitors at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said he is investigating whether Twitter broke the law with the sudden layoffs due to laws requiring employers to retain workers for at least 90 days during a transition between entrepreneurs.
Twitter has laid off about half of its employees since taking over Musk, the manner of which has sparked numerous lawsuits or arbitration requests.
The termination notice provided to the janitors did not include any explanation of the sudden termination of the contract with Flagship Services or any information on how these workers would be replaced.
“Twitter’s decision to cancel the cleaning contract for its New York office has turned the lives of these dedicated cleaners upside down, many of whom have worked there since Twitter moved in seven years ago. NYC essential cleaners have done too much for this city to be treated like this,” Denis Johnston, 32BJ SEIU executive vice president and business division manager, said in a statement about the job cuts.
“They are putting their lives on the line to keep workers and the public safe throughout the pandemic and are critical to the city’s economic recovery in the aftermath of the pandemic. These union members and their families are now facing extreme hardship due to the loss of their well-paying jobs with quality health insurance. »
Twitter and Flagship Services Inc did not immediately respond to requests for comment.