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Great Wall Institute: The Process of the Great Wall of Los Angeles

1989 Striking in Century City

“During each strike, the campaign organized public dramas intended to increase awareness of the movement, publicly embarrass select individuals in the industry, and build public support. They began by demonstrating along Santa Monica and Olympic Boulevards with signs reading “Century City: Luxury by Day, Sweatshop by Night,” and “ISS + JMB Equals Poverty for Janitors.” In one particularly creative action, the union marched through the city and encouraged supporters to bring their garbage and dump it at Century City; later, in a nationwide campaign, supporters mailed it directly them to the owners of the buildings. As the strikers grew in number and their supporters became more vocal, police presence at the public events increased. The Los Angeles Police Department eventually set up a command post in Century City, one of the safest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. In response, Local 399 conducted frequent civil disobedience training to ensure that the strikers were educated about their right to peaceful assembly and the legalities associated with protesting. This training prepared the demonstrators to submit to arrest and respond non-violently to provocation by the police, in anticipation of resistance from law enforcement. On June 15th, 1990, the Justice for Janitors movement marched from Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills to a planned rally in Century City. The peaceful protesters, clad in red Justice for Janitors t-shirts, were met by over one hundred members of the LAPD in full riot gear as they attempted to cross into the Century City office park. Though the marchers were in a public space, the police aggressively ordered them disperse. A bullhorn rang out, claiming the march was an illegal assembly. In an act of planned and non-violent civil disobedience, the protesters moved into the street and sat down, preparing to be arrested. Among them was Ana Veliz, an ISS janitor from El Salvador who made $4.25 an hour and worked two jobs to send money back to her mother and six children outside the United States. Veliz became pregnant in March of 1990 and fought with Justice for Janitors for the fair wages and health insurance she would need to safely deliver and raise her child.”