The severity of an influenza epidemic in the nation is escalating, as the total number of reported cases reached 37,175 last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, urging people to seek medical attention as soon as possible should they experience any symptoms.

According to the centers’ statistics released yesterday, 18 cases of severe flu-related complications and four flu-related deaths were confirmed last week, bringing to 196 the number of cases of severe complications and deaths nationwide since July last year.

CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said three of the four deaths last week were adults aged between 39 and 56 who had chronic diseases and had not been vaccinated, while the other case was a 22-month-old boy.

The baby had cerebral palsy and, despite a vaccination, developed a fever on Dec. 25 last year and was taken to see a doctor, Lin said, adding that the child was later found unconscious with hyperspasmia.

The baby was placed in intensive care after being diagnosed with influenza on Wednesday last week, but died of pneumonia and complications from sepsis on the same day, Lin said, adding that the baby was the youngest death caused by severe flu-related complications since last year.

CDC Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said the baby caught the virus from a family member, adding that people should tell doctors their contact history to avoid delays in diagnoses and treatment.

“Vaccination is still the best way to prevent influenza, but it is more effective in adults than in babies under two years of age,” Lin said, adding that people with flu-like symptoms should seek medical attention as soon as possible and pay special attention to signs that complications are developing.

Lin said symptoms of severe complications include: pneumonia; myocarditis (inflammation of heart muscle); encephalitis (inflammation of the brain); labored breathing and shortness of breath; bloody or thick phlegm; chest pain; altered states of consciousness; hypotension; and a high fever lasting longer than 72 hours.

There were 79,953 government-funded influenza vaccines in stock as of yesterday, Chou said, adding that the government has extended the list of conditions for eligible recipients to people older than 50 with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, HIV or chronic liver, heart, kidney or lung diseases.

Chou urged those eligible to receive a government-funded influenza vaccination as soon as possible.

More at source: CDC

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Research shows that governments are major purchasers of janitorial, sanitation and cleaning products. This category includes power equipment, paper/plastics, chemicals, supplies and accessories. Distributor sales of these products to municipal, county, state and federal government agencies totaled about $2.02 billion in the most recent year that data was available. Government sales equal 8.4 percent of the total U.S. market. Sales to educational institutions, government health care, stadiums, airports and public transit are in separate categories and not included in the government sales figure. The estimate is from the “Report on 2012 Sanitary Supply Distributor Sales,” which is a research study from ISSA, a cleaning industry trade group and Sanitary Maintenance.

A recent janitorial products market report from The Freedonia Group, likewise, shows sizable government purchases of janitorial products. The latest Freedonia research is“Janitorial Equipment & Supplies, Industry Study 3311,” which was issued August 2015. Freedonia is a Cleveland-based international industry market research firm.

The report explains that U.S. demand for janitorial equipment and supplies is forecast to increase 2.2 percent per year through 2019 to $7.1 billion, continuing the recovery that began in the latter part of the 2009-2014 period. The report notes that sizable pent-up demand for automated floor cleaning equipment will drive market advances. According to Freedonia analysts, “Automated floor cleaning equipment is forecast to post the fastest and largest gains as the segment continues to recover from its extended downturn. Sales of specialty items and those used on hard surface floors will particularly benefit as janitorial budgets expand.”

Freedonia’s study includes government facilities in the institutional category. Some government facilities included in the institutional category are: medical/health care establishments, educational institutions, libraries, museums and prisons. Government-sponsored labs are classed in the “Other” category in the Freedonia report.

The institutional market, according to Freedonia’s study, was the second largest market for janitorial equipment and supplies in 2014. It only slightly trailed the office market, with $1.9 billion, accounting for 30 percent of overall demand. Institutional demand for these products is projected to match gains in the office building market through 2019, rising 2.3 percent annually to $2.2 billion.

The Freedonia report has market data on a variety of other janitorial products, including:
--Manual Cleaning Products     
--Automated Floor Cleaning Equipment       
--Bags & Containers       
--Other Products & Accessories

The report offers demand data by market (e.g., office buildings, institutional buildings, commercial buildings, industrial buildings, residential buildings) and purchaser (in-house cleaners, contract cleaners).

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A trio of housekeepers who sheriff’s deputies say made stealing from elderly clients the real family business will all be spending the holidays behind bars or on probation.

Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley sentenced 27-year-old Honduran native Karla Elvir to a year in jail and two years of probation last week for stealing more than $6,000 in jewelry from elderly clients whose houses she was cleaning.

More at source: MyPalmBeach

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SAN DIEGO — The co-owner of a Southern California janitorial company accused of using straw owners to conceal the existence of hundreds of workers to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes and insurance premiums pleaded not guilty Wednesday to multiple felony charges.

Woo “Stephanie”  Kwon, 59, was ordered held on $1 million bail pending a review hearing Jan. 4.

She and her husband, 62-year-old Hyok “Steven” Kwon — the owners of Good Neighbor Services — were indicted on charges of workers’ compensation fraud, payroll tax evasion and extortion. Each faces 31 years in prison if convicted, according to authorities.

More at source: Fox News

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The owners of a Southern California janitorial company that provides cleaning staff to major hotels in San Diego, Los Angeles and Riverside counties were indicted on charges of workers’ compensation fraud, payroll tax evasion and extortion, authorities announced Monday.

Hyok “Steven Kwon and his wife, Woo “Stephanie” Kwon — the owners of Good Neighbor Services — each face up to 31 years in prison if convicted.

Good Neighbor Services provides cleaning staff to major hotels such as the Hotel Del Coronado, Loews Coronado, La Costa Resort and Spa, the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons and the Hilton and Hyatt hotel chains.

The investigation — which began 2 1/2 to three years ago — allegedly uncovered a methodical and systematic shell game involving six straw owners. Those straw owners were used to conceal the existence of hundreds of hotel workers to avoid paying millions of dollars in insurance premiums and payroll taxes, the government alleges.

“These defendants lied on the backs of their employees, who were cleaning rooms in some of the most prestigious hotels in California,” said San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. “If employees got hurt on the job, they were threatened with being fired.”

More at source: San Diego Times

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One of Sydney's largest cleaning companies, BIC Cleaning Services, has been accused of systematically underpaying its cleaners by almost half a million dollars.

BIC, which has a 35 per cent market share of the cleaning contracts in Sydney's CBD, has been taken to the Federal Circuit court by the cleaners' union, United Voice, with claims of underpayments and breaches of the Fair Work Act.

The union said it had identified underpayments of about $450,000.

7.30 has spoken with three cleaners on student visas who all said they had been underpaid.

United Voice said international students. 

More At source: ABC

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A San Francisco chapter of Service Employees International Union has launched a holiday drive to take toys and clothing to the children of farm workers in Mexico, according to union officials.

Leadership of SEIU Local 87, which is primarily comprised of janitorial workers in San Francisco, announced the drive on Sunday.

The effort is focused on supporting the families of agricultural workers in the town of San Quintin in Baja California.

Those workers in Mexico have been “violently repressed” while trying to orchestrate strikes and other worker actions, according to the union.

Union members will also be traveling to Tijuana in Mexico to host a luncheon in support of these workers. They are trying to raise another $3,000 before Saturday to pay for the trip, union officials said.

More at source: SF Appeal

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Back when she was in her 20s, Hazel Ingram was once told that she was “too skinny” for a cleaning job.

A man at a hiring agency thought a slight woman like Ms. Ingram wouldn’t be able to handle the lifting involved. His colleague disagreed, saying his hardworking mother-in-law was Ms. Ingram’s size.

She got the job.

Ms. Ingram, now 92 years old, has spent the roughly 65 years since then as a cleaner, 60 or so of them at the same Madison Avenue building. She is “by far” the oldest active worker in 32BJ S.E.I.U., the 145,000-member, multistate union representing cleaners, a union spokeswoman said.

And Ms. Ingram, who is employed by real estate and management firm Steinberg & Pokoik, said she has no plans to retire—not because she needs the job but because she loves the work.

More at source: WSJ

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December 03, 2015 // Franchising.com // Considering Franchising? Take note, Stratus Building Solutions looking to expand from 25 offices into another 42 Major US Cities by 2021. If you have been considering owning your own business but find the territory availability or work schedule of other franchisees too impacted or demanding, you may want to consider a Master Franchise with Stratus Building Solutions.

Since the acquisition of the Stratus Building Solutions corporate office in February 2015 by three partners who connected through ownership of their own Stratus Master Franchises, the new company has had many great accomplishments to secure the growth opportunities for their existing masters and now has announced they have set their sights on expansion across the country.

Stratus Building Solution’s Master model allows its franchisees to operate as regional franchisors, or area developers, selling and supporting their own unit franchisees within an owned exclusive territory. The average territory size determined by population consists of around 3 million people. With currently 25 existing Master Franchise Operators in metropolitans across the country in 18 states and supporting 1,400 unit franchisees, the new ownership has begun an extremely proactive approach in recent months to bring on more Master Franchisees in a minimum of 42 more US cities by 2021.

Stratus Building Solutions is focusing expansion efforts on the largest remaining available metropolitan territories across the United States, including Atlanta, Dallas / Ft. Worth, Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Miami, Las Vegas and Raleigh. “We currently have a nationwide presence in the commercial cleaning and janitorial franchise industry, however expanding into remaining key cities will bring our brand awareness to a whole new competitive level to reach consumers and new unit franchisees,” states Stratus Corporate CEO, Afshin Cangarlu.

In April of this year, Stratus Building Solutions corporate headquarters launched two new main websites targeting new janitorial service clients and new franchisees, both Master and Unit. Additionally, each of the existing 25 Master Franchises were provided with their own customer and Unit Franchise websites specifically designed for their geo-targeted markets.

The extensive franchise recruiting website seeks to educate potential franchise owners with the opportunity and requirements of the company’s multi-level business options. The company’s ideal candidate for the Master Franchise level has experience in executive level management, sales and marketing and $250,000 in liquid assets.

Stratus Building Solutions nationwide sales have already shown a steady improvement, increasing 7% since the acquisition. Optimism has run rampant since February as well amongst the existing Masters, and with the new proactive recruiting process now in place, the company is set to launch into a strong 2016.

About Stratus Building Solutions

Stratus Building Solutions is a nationwide franchise company in the commercial cleaning industry, founded in 2006 and headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. Stratus was developed to provide a superior, environmentally friendly commercial cleaning experience driven by dedicated, entrepreneurial, small business owners and regional master franchise offices nationwide. Stratus has over 1,400 unit franchisees in 25 major cities across the United States. Stratus is setting new standards in the building services and maintenance franchise industry by being the first to offer sustainable Green Cleaning janitorial with their own proprietary Stratus Green Clean products and green consulting services. For more information, please visit www.stratusbuildingsolutions.com. 

SOURCE Stratus Building Solutions

Media Contact:

Rachel Frazier
Marketing Coordinator
888-981-1555

A Hillsboro janitorial company has agreed to pay nearly $200,000 in back wages to 46 employees who worked on taxpayer-funded projects in Oregon, state labor officials announced Wednesday.
 
The workers have received about $161,000 so far and are due to receive another $32,000 by the end of the month after the state deposits final wage payments collected from their employer,

More at source: Oregon Live

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