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Citing dangerous work conditions and a heavy workload, about 30 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory custodians used their lunch hour to wear bright union T-shirts, waive placards and chant labor slogans at the entrance of the lab.  

The custodians gathered at the intersection of Hearst Avenue and Highland Place. They carried signs that read “LBNL workers deserve fair workloads” and solicited support from passing motorists in the form of honked horns. 

The custodians said the lab needs to hire at least 20 new custodians to meet safe and effective staffing levels. According to a union spokesperson, at least two custodians have been injured so far this year and one was injured last year while carrying out tasks that were not in their job description.  

According to Ray Viray, who has been a custodian at the lab for 12 years, the majority of custodians are assigned work areas as large as 70,000 square feet. Union representatives said the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers, an international association that monitors the quality of educational facilities, recommends only 30,000 square feet of office space be assigned to a single custodian.  

“And that’s office space,” Viray said. “We are responsible for maintaining areas that contain biohazards, radioactivity and machine shops and these places require special training and attention.” 

Lab spokesperson Ron Kolb said management has been meeting with the custodians and their union, Local 3299 of the American Federation for State and County Municipal Employees, on a monthly basis trying to resolve the situation. 

“We signed a union contract in January, which they are working from now,” he said. “What that contract calls for is the union and management to set up committees to discuss the issue and that’s what we have been doing.” 

Kolb said management has been meeting with the union on an average of every four to six weeks.  

But the custodians say that despite the meetings, management has only arranged for four new custodians in the coming fiscal budget.  

“These figures do not even take into consideration the fact that a large number of LBNL custodians have recently, or are about to, retire,” a union press release read. “Apparently management does not seem to be taking the ongoing custodial injuries seriously.” 

However, Kolb argued that worker safety is a top lab consideration and that management was doing everything possible within the constraints of its budget. 

“We insist on a safe workplace,” he said. “If there’s an unsafe condition, the custodians should work with their supervisor to find a solution to the problem.” 

The custodians and their union representatives are scheduled to meet with LBNL management again on Aug. 14.