More Workers Out The Door At Twitter’s Chelsea Office

When Yoneiby Lorenzo received a text message alerting him that he’d lost his job, a fate that went into effect immediately for all 12 janitors in Twitter’s Manhattan office, he had already fallen asleep after a full day of work.

“It was just out of the blue,” he told Chelsea News. “How the hell am I going to pay my bills? That’s all I was thinking about.” He’d cleaned the building at 245-249 West 17th Street for the past nine years, working 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. shifts.

Lorenzo and other unionized workers — from New York and San Francisco, where a similar story unfolded — braved rain and chilly temperatures across the street from Twitter’s city headquarters on Wednesday, Jan. 25 to protest the sudden move from the tech company that’s seemed in disarray since Elon Musk purchased it in October of 2022 for $44 billion. In the weeks since Twitter terminated its contract with Flagship Services, which employed the 32BJ cleaners, new non-union janitors have reportedly been hired, according to a 32BJ spokesperson, who suspected they are receiving lower wages and no health insurance.

The union is fighting to get its workers back in the building before Jan. 31, at which time they would otherwise lose union health care benefits. In an effort to regain the long-held turf, 32BJ has cited the city’s Displaced Building Service Workers Protection Act, which requires a “90-day transition period” between existing building service employees and new ones, in specific scenarios.

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

How Does One Continue On?

The 32BJ cleaners who had worked at Twitter’s office are largely Spanish and Albanian speakers, according to the union and to Council Member Erik Bottcher, who joined the Jan. 25 protest.

“I am here with you, shoulder to shoulder in this fight against this horrible, indefensible action by Twitter against these workers who deserve to keep their jobs,” he said, addressing the crowd. “These workers are essential workers. They put their lives on the line during the pandemic and now that the city’s coming back, Twitter wants to throw them out on the street.”

Lorenzo, 29, said he worries about how he’ll continue to afford his $2,000 per month apartment in Upper Manhattan, while also providing for his three-year-old daughter. He’s saved up enough to get by for about three months, but he’s worried that time will go by quickly. “I want to be back in the building, of course — I love the Twitter workers,” he said.

The contract termination announcement, which came a week before Christmas, has left others scrambling to figure out how they’ll continue to manage health conditions like asthma, arthritis and hyperthyroidism without medical coverage.

An Outpouring Of Support

A number of 32BJ workers who attended the protest hadn’t been employed in the Twitter office, but turned out to support their union colleagues. Juan Tejada, a 32BJ member who works in a different building, expressed disapproval of the style by which cleaners lost their jobs, with no prior notice. “This is not fair,” he said.

“An injury to one is an injury to all,” said 32BJ’s Executive Vice President, Kevin Brown.

Bottcher explained that the surrounding community had high expectations for Twitter when the company opened up shop on West 17th Street almost a decade ago. “Twitter came to this neighborhood purporting to be a good employer and a good neighbor,” he said. “This is not the kind of behavior we expect from people who are going to operate here in Chelsea.”

Protestors hoped their outrage would fuel the tech company’s nightmare. “What is Twitter most afraid of?” one speaker asked the crowd. “Bad press.”