The 27 cleaners arrive on the Boston campus by 10pm and work through the night. They and their employer, All Time Servicebenefit from Northeastern's expansion of a program to invest in minority- and women-owned small businesses.
“I applaud Northeastern University for giving us the opportunity to grow and make things better for our people and for the people in our communities,” says Janet Peguero, president and CEO of All Time Service.
Peguero was 14 when she moved with her parents to the US, where she worked part-time as a cleaner to help with the family bills.
“As a cleaner I was not treated very well and very respectfully,” says Peguero. “I used to say to my parents, 'I want to have a cleaning company where people feel valued and respected, so people feel they're worth something.'
When the bidding for a new janitorial contract ended last year, Mark Boulter, Northeastern's senior director of buildings, wanted to expand the university's reach into the community. Northeastern's Planning, Real Estate and Facilities department broke the new contract into two pieces.
As part of the investment in minority and women-owned enterprises (MWBE) goal, a larger 20% share of the campus cleanup was awarded to a long-time university partner DRB Facility Services, a minority-owned company in Boston, led for 30 years by President and CEO Anthony A. Samuels. The remaining 80% went to another cleaning partner for many years, ABM Industries, a century-old industry leader in janitorial services (as well as parking lots and garages) with more than 120,000 employees worldwide. As part of the new agreement, Northeastern stipulated that 15% of the ABM commitment would be subcontracted to a MWBE.
ABM agreed—and increased the subcontract to 20% with its new partner All Time Service. This partnership allowed Peguero to hire 28 new workers.
“It's a wonderful opportunity for people from our communities to have a well-paying job,” says Peguero, who employs a total of 200 people.
Peguero says she has been trying for years to bid on cleaning contracts with universities and colleges in Boston.
“Northeastern sets an example for the city,” says Peguero, who mentioned Northeastern's partnership with ABM during a recent conversation she had with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu about creating opportunities for women.
“That was a blessing for us because it gave us an opportunity not only to grow financially—with almost $2 million from this deal—but also to grow in other ways,” says Peguero.
ABM provides Peguero's company with management tools it wouldn't otherwise be able to afford, she says.
“It's a larger company with systems and programs that they use to manage employees and communications, and they allow us to use those resources,” says Peguero. “And because we are partners, ABM has given us the opportunity to receive their rates [for equipment and supplies] which is — because it's a national company — usually 15-20% less than what we pay.”
Boulter hopes Northeastern's investment in MWBE will inspire other institutions to follow suit, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic really did a lot to the cleaning industry because people stopped going to the office,” says Boulter. “And then the health and safety protocols and the threat of exposure to COVID made it mentally and physically draining for the workers.”
Universities must be willing to adapt in order to work with MWBE, says Rosanna Molinaro, director of procurement and contracting at Northeastern.
“There are what I call 'barriers to entry' for these small, local businesses,” says Molinaro. “Higher education institutions may have certain requirements for insurance or payment terms that may make it difficult. From our position, we can help lower these barriers to entry. It really takes a village for everyone to buy in and think differently, strategically and fairly. I'm so proud of the work we've done here.”
Ian Thomsen is a reporter for Northeastern Global News. Email him at i.thomsen@northeastern.edu. Follow him on Twitter @IanatNU.
