Facebook Inc is pushing for higher pay and improved benefits for the janitors, cooks and other workers who support its employees.
The social network is implementing a set of new standards for its US-based contractors who do a “substantial amount of work” for Facebook.
Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg on Tuesday announced the changes in a blog post. The new requirements include a minimum wage of US$15 an hour, at least 15 paid days off per year, and for those who do not receive paid parental leave, a US$4,000 “new child benefit” for new parents.
The move comes amid a push in the US to pay low-wage workers at least US$15 per hour and improve other benefits. In California’s Silicon Valley, where the wealth gap between the leaders of the technology industry and the workers who serve their lunches and clean their bathrooms can be especially jarring, the movement has focused on tech giants like Apple Inc, Google Inc and Facebook.
Facebook had originally planned to announce the changes on Monday last week, as the standards are already in place for some workers. The announcement was delayed following the sudden death of Sandberg’s husband, David Goldberg, on May 1.
“Taking these steps is the right thing to do for our business and our community,” Sandberg wrote. “Women, because they comprise about two-thirds of minimum wage workers nationally, are particularly affected by wage adjustments. Research also shows that providing adequate benefits contributes to a happier and ultimately more productive workforce.”
Facebook would not disclose how many workers its changes would affect, but the number is likely to be in the hundreds as it includes kitchen staff, janitors, security guards and other workers who are employed by outside contractors and vendors to support its sprawling headquarters in Menlo Park, California and elsewhere in the US.
Sandberg said the new standards were put in place on May 1 for “some of our largest support teams” at the company’s headquarters and the company is planning to implement it with a broader set of US vendors this year.
The new standards apply to Facebook’s shuttle bus drivers, the company said. However, the drivers voted to unionize earlier this year, and Teamsters Local 853 international vice president Rome Aloise said the starting wage in their contracts already exceeds US$15 per hour.
“But I do think that Facebook is exhibiting themselves to be responsible corporate citizens,” he said. “[We are] hoping the rest of the tech companies will follow their lead.”
At Google’s northern California campuses, support staff such as bus drivers, parking attendants, guards and cafe workers earns a minimum of US$15 an hour, according to the company. The changes went into effect on April 1, a month before Facebook’s.
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