Houston, U.S.A. — The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) launched an online ad campaign in Houston drawing attention to office building owners’ routine practice of protesting property tax appraisals, costing  local governments and school systems millions in lost revenue each year.

The ads, running in more than 1,000 outlets, allow viewers to send emails to top Houston building owners JPMorgan Chase and Brookfield Properties and the Houston Building Office and Managers Association (BOMA) calling on big real estate to pay its fair share.

The campaign comes amid increased scrutiny of commercial real estate owners’ use of Houston’s tax protest process. According to new research, owners of the biggest, most valuable office buildings in Houston – many of them rich, out-of-state corporations – routinely protest all or nearly all of their property tax bills, lowering their property appraisals to well below market value.

These tax protests cost local government and local schools more than $65 million in 2011, at a time when decreases in tax revenues have forced massive budget cuts, including the layoff of more than 3,000 teachers.

The campaign also highlights the impact of commercial property tax protests on homeowners, whose tax bills may be higher to compensate for lost revenue. In 2011, commercial property owners were nearly twice as successful at getting their buildings’ appraised value reduced as single family homeowners, according to the campaign.

Janitors who clean Houston’s big office towers are in the midst of the fourth week of an unfair labor practice strike after cleaning companies contracted by JPMorgan Chase, Brookfield, and other building owners fired, threatened and intimidated workers speaking up for fair wages and better conditions.

Despite high demand in Houston’s healthy commercial real estate industry, Houston’s office cleaners are some of the lowest paid in the nation—most are paid less than $9,000 a year.  Cleaning contractors pay janitors working in cities with weaker markets and lower rental rates, such as Chicago, Cincinnati, Orange County, and Cleveland significantly higher wages. For example, in Detroit where vacancy rates are 6.3 percent higher, and rental rates are more than five dollars lower, janitors make over $11.17 an hour.

Image Courtesy of  Houston Janitors

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Houston, U.S.A. — Support for Houston janitors is spreading across the country following the  arrests of seven people, including five janitors, who participated in an act of peaceful, nonviolent civil disobedience at a protest in support of a living wage for Houston janitors.

Hundreds of janitors and human rights activists in 17 cities have been protesting in front of office buildings cleaned by the same cleaning contractors that employ Houston janitors—who are now on their fourth week of an unfair labor practices strike.

The cities where solidarity actions are taking place are Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York City, Portland, San Diego, San Ramon, Seattle, St. Louis, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.

“I cannot imagine the impossible decisions that Houston janitors must make earning only $9,000 a year,” said Denver janitor Celia Guizado Gomez who is rallying today.  “My union job as a janitor allowed me to raise three children in a stable and loving home. I’m out here today because no working parent should be forced to choose between spending time with their family and working a second job just to put food on the table and clothes on your kids’ backs.”

Houston janitors are paid just $9,000 annually, often clean 90+ toilets every night and work in some of the most exclusive real estate in the city. So far the cleaning contractors they work for, such as New York based ABM, have rejected paying the janitors a higher wage, claiming that $9,000 a year is a good wage. Recently, another cleaning contractor, New York based Pritchard has come under fire for terminating janitors that have supported the union.

Janitors are standing up to some of the biggest and wealthiest corporations in the world for a chance at a better life for their families. When janitors in Houston began to campaign for a better life, they were met with intimidation from their employers.

“We’re striking because we have no other option,” says Houston janitor Lidia Aguillon. “We can’t make ends meet on what we are paid, and when we stand

Image Courtesy of  Houston Janitors

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Austin, U.S.A. — In another example of how Texas is leading the nation’s economic recovery, the real estate market continues to show marked improvements over last year, according to the 2012-Q2 edition of the Texas Quarterly Housing Report issued today by the Texas Association of Realtors. Featuring 13 percent more single family home sales than the same quarter of the prior year and a median price that was seven percent higher than 2011-Q2, the results demonstrate that Texas’ economic recovery is robust and widespread throughout the state.

“The momentum we saw in the first quarter of this year is continuing and we’re seeing that now not only in increased sales volume, but also in a strong increase in the median price,” said Joe Stewart, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors. “That is good news for Texas homeowners who have been thinking of moving up, but who have remained on the sidelines because they’re concerned about earning full value for their current home.”

In the second quarter of 2012, 67,334 single family homes were sold in Texas, which is 13.04 percent more than the second quarter of 2011. In addition, the median price in the second quarter of 2012 was $161,400, which is 7.45 percent more than 2011-Q2.

“One of the most noteworthy aspects of this quarter’s results is the consistency across markets,” said Jim Gaines, Ph.D., an economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. “Occasionally, statewide results can be dominated by trends in Texas’ largest markets due to the large volume of real estate transactions they represent. However, in this case, the increases in both sales volume and median price are seen throughout most of the 48 Texas markets included in the report.”

In addition to improvements in sales volume and median price in the second quarter of 2012, the “months inventory” figure improved. Indicating the balance between supply and demand in the real estate market, the Texas market featured 5.9 months of inventory in 2012-Q2, which is 2.2 months less than 2011-Q2. The Real Estate Center cites 6.5 months of inventory as a market in which demand is balanced with supply.

Gaines explained, “At 5.9 months of inventory, Texas is bordering on a sellers’ market. However, I think that is due as much to a decrease in supply – from fewer foreclosures, lack of new speculative home building and apprehensive homeowners not listing properties – as it is to increasing demand. Nonetheless, homebuyers should expect competition for desirable properties.”

Chairman Stewart concluded, “Texas has been leading the economic recovery and these results are more proof that our state is one of the nation’s best places to own a home. Now, we must protect the high quality of life that fueled that recovery and work on absorbing the growth of our state. That is the focus of the Texas Association of Realtors as we once again begin preparing to advocate for Texas homeowners during the 83rd session of the Texas Legislature in 2013.”

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