Twitter Janitors Protest Their Firing

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Facts

  • A dozen janitors, along with union "32BJ SEIU" on Tuesday held a protest outside Twitter’s New York City offices to demand an explanation for being laid off and to demand they be given their jobs back.
  • The workers were notified their contracts and jobs were terminated on Dec. 19, 2022. Previously, the workers say, when there was a change in contractor since 2015, the same employees were retained.
  • Twitter gave no reason for terminating its contract with Flagship Services, which hired the janitors. Previously, Twitter unexpectedly fired its cleaning staff at its San Francisco offices in Dec. 2022 — a move that's being investigated by the San Francisco city attorney.
  • Since Twitter was purchased for $44B in October by Elon Musk, the company has gone through numerous cuts to services other than janitorial work. Security services have been cut, and the company stopped paying rent at its Seattle office.
  • Twitter is also facing a lawsuit from dozens of laid-off workers in the UK, who are suing over what they call illegal firings amid a “sham redundancy process.”

Sources: Guardian, Tech Times, New York Times, and Business Insider.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Gizmodo. Ever since Musk took over, Twitter has been in shambles. His indiscriminate cutting of employees shows his utter disregard for other people. His disrespect affects everyone in every role at the company. Cutting these people just before Christmas made this move even more disgusting.
  • Narrative B, as provided by CNBC. Musk’s attitude toward employees has nothing to do with these cuts. Companies in the tech sector across the country are cutting back because of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes, which are making it difficult for companies to borrow and grow. Tech companies have had a shaky start to 2023 — hopefully, conditions will improve later this year.