7 Months Later & Still No Check! 

The House of Representatives is expected to approve back pay this month for hundreds of thousands of federal contractors who went unpaid during the 35-day government shutdown during December and January, according to Democratic lawmakers.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) has pushed for Congress to approve back pay for hundreds of thousands of federal contractors affected by the government shutdown. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee announced that an upcoming government spending package will include back pay for an estimated 580,000 federal contractors, whose ranks include janitors, cooks, & security guards...

More at source: Washington Post

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A group of janitorial workers who were contracted to work in South Holland School District 151 claim their former employer, Alpha Building Maintenance Service, stole tens of thousands of dollars in wages from them over the last five-plus years.

Eight of the workers, who cleaned three schools within District 151 until they were either terminated or resigned from ABMS in late February, filed a class action lawsuit against the south suburban maintenance contractor Tuesday in Cook County Chancery Court.

More at source: Chicago Tribune

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Janitors who are part of the Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ protested K&S Management Services, a Vienna-based non-union cleaning contractor in Tysons.

With 75,000 commercial office cleaners’ contracts set to expire this year, Jaime Contreras, the vice president for 32BJ SEIU, told Tysons Reporter that the union will help with bargaining.

“Today we are focused on K&S, which is the largest non-union cleaning company in Virginia — also a company who is known to violate workers’ rights to organize on the job,” Contreras said. “They were found guilty by the National Labor Board of firing a worker for simply trying to organize on the job.”

That former K&S worker, Geofredo Castro, told the crowd in Spanish and with an English translator that he decided to organize his workers with 32BJ because “there were lots of injustices and they didn’t pay us a fair salary and we didn’t get almost any benefits.”

More at source:Tysons Reporter

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The Instagram 'influencer' Mrs Hinch is under investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) following a Telegraph article.

The advertising watchdog has confirmed it is looking into posts by the social media personality, whose real name is Sophie Hinchliffe, containing products from one of her sponsors, Procter and Gamble (P&G).

The investigation comes after the 29-year-old former hair dresser from Essex has become one of the country’s biggest cleaning influencers, regularly recommending homecare products to her more than 2.5 million Instagram followers.

A spokesman for the ASA said: “I can confirm that we are investigating Mrs Hinch as a result of receiving complaints in April this year around the issue of ad disclosure. We will publish our decision in due course.”

More at source: Telegraph

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TULSA, Okla. — The 3,000 electronic games and gaming tables are silent at River Spirit Casino Resort as the water encroaches, idling more than 1,500 employees in an eerie scene threatening to repeat itself in flood-soaked communities across the Midwest and the Great Plains.

The 200,000-square-foot gambling mecca has been closed since the Arkansas River began flooding last week, and it's expected to remain closed until at least the middle of next week, said Muscogee (Creek) Nation Casinos, which operates the casino.

The casino's pool bar is under water, which has even entered its famed tiki bar, the resort said.

"We're still at the mercy of Mother Nature, waiting for the water to stop rising," Pat Crofts, the company's chief executive, said Tuesday.

The Army Corps of Engineers has been releasing 275,000 cubic feet of water per second from the Keystone Dam, which protects Tulsans from the waters of Keystone Lake and the Arkansas and Cimarron rivers upstream.

Authorities warned Tuesday that the release could raise standing floodwaters by more than a foot in Tulsa and the communities of Sand Springs and Bixby.

More at source: NBC

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Hand dryers suck in fecal bacteria and blow it all over your hands, study finds...

We know fecal bacteria shoots into the air when a lidless toilet flushes — a phenomenon known, grossly, as a “toilet plume.” But in bathrooms where such plumes gush regularly, where does all that fecal bacteria go?

Into a hand dryer and onto your clean hands, perhaps. That’s what a new study suggests. Researchers examined plates exposed to just 30 seconds of a hand dryer compared to those left in, you know, just plain feces-filled air.

The findings: Air-blasted plates carried 18-60 colonies of bacteria on average, whereas two minutes’ exposure to the mere bathroom air left fewer than one colony on average. What’s more, the inside of the dryer nozzles themselves had “minimal bacterial levels.” The results were published recently in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

More at source: AEM

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Why do people feel the need to disinfect their homes?’: Kirstie Allsopp sparks debate with divisive opinion on cleaning

The 47-year-old property expert kicked off the discussion when talking about air fresheners, revealing that she wehemently dislikes them and doesn’t agree with their use.

After some comments back from Twitter users, Kirstie shared her opinion that there is also no reason to ‘disinfect our homes’ with antibacterial products.

Later, she took particular aim at Zoflora, a potent disinfectant made famous by Instagram cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch.

Questioning the need for such cleaning products, she wrote, ‘Why do people feel the need to “disinfect” their homes? Our home is not a hospital, it’s not harbouring super bugs, it’s tidy and clean and well aired, but going round cleaning imaginary “bad” bugs is just weird, and bad science.

More at source: Woman & Home

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Española Company PMI Wins $52 Million Subcontract With Los Alamos National Laboratory

LANL News:

Española-based Performance Maintenance Inc. (PMI) has won a five-year, $52 million subcontract to provide janitorial services and supplies to Los Alamos National Laboratory, with the award marked by a signing ceremony this morning attended by LANL Director Thom Mason at PMI's facility at 835 N. Paseo de Oñate.

“Enhancing opportunities for small businesses like PMI to provide goods and services to the Laboratory is a priority,” said Mason told the crowd gathered for the event. “The Laboratory needs to partner with regional companies to carry out our work, and there's also an important economic benefit to Northern New Mexico.”

The subcontract, which has a three-year base period with options for two additional one-year terms, was awarded to PMI and its lower tier subcontractors Tsay Professional Services based in Ohkay Owingeh, NM, and Kleen Tech Services Corporation from Denver, Colo., after a competitive bid process.

The Laboratory recently increased from 5 percent to 10 percent the local preference available to businesses based in the seven counties surrounding the Laboratory (with an additional preference for qualifying pueblo businesses).

Established in 1994 by Eric and Celina Quintana from their home, PMI now employs more than 160 people and takes an environmentally friendly approach to its janitorial services, producing its own line of green-certified cleaning products.

More at source: LA Daily Post

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Your imagination can run wild thinking of the bacteria lurking in your home. But people tend to look in the wrong direction when it comes to fighting germs in the kitchen. Disinfect these seven germ sanctuaries as soon as possible.

YOUR REFRIGERATOR

Your refrigerator harbours bacteria in some surprising places. Ice and water dispensers, vegetable crispers, meat drawers, and door seals are some of the germiest!

To do: Use a disinfectant when you clean the fridge, do a white vinegar flush of the water dispenser, and clean and sanitize the ice maker and ice bin. If your fridge needs extra care (and elbow grease), consider hiring a cleaning service that offers appliance cleaning.

COUNTERTOP APPLIANCES

Countertop appliances need more intensive cleaning than you might think. In fact, not doing things like flushing your coffee maker and disinfecting your blender gasket can put you at risk of ingesting unsafe bacteria.

More at source: Hamilton Spectator

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With headquarters in Boylston, Mass., Butler-Dearden Paper Services Inc. has become the 20th acquisition with Robert and Jason Tillis at the helm of disposable food service and janitorial supply distribution company Imperial Dade.

On Tuesday, the Jersey City-based company announced its acquisition of Butler-Dearden, a distributor of packaging supplies, printer paper, chemicals and janitorial supplies, serving the New England area.

Imperial Dade said the move strengthens the company’s presence in the regional market.

“Butler-Dearden is a leading distributor in New England and has an excellent commitment to service, which makes it a great addition to the Imperial Dade platform,” Imperial Dade Chief Executive Officer Robert Tillis said in a prepared statement.

“This acquisition will enhance our ability to serve Butler-Dearden’s customers as well as our own,” said Jason Tillis, president, Imperial Dade, in a prepared statement. “We look forward to working with the Butler-Dearden team members and continuing to grow together.”

Last week, Bain Capital announced it agreed to acquire a majority stake in Imperial Dade, though the company will continue to be led by its current management team.

More at source: NJBiz.com

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