Bay Area Worker Spotlight
Rosemary Cortez is a Bay Area property service worker at Oracle. Her employment as a janitor is made possible in collaboration with BSP industry-partner, Service by Medallion.
Rosemary has worked as a janitor for eight years. She has taken BSP Digital Literacy classes, which offer access to tech devices and digital education to close the digital divide for property service workers and their families.
Excited about the knowledge she gains through the courses she completes, Rosemary said that she “always shares with family, friends, and coworkers what I am learning in BSP’s classes which encourages them to take the classes too.”
The BSP instructor noticed her curiosity and determination to learn from the start. Rosemary later went on to complete BSP’s English as a Second Language (ESL) and Green Janitor Education Programs (GJEP).
The GJEP curriculum provides hands-on energy management and green cleaning training earning janitors a seat at the sustainability table while reducing the carbon footprint of buildings.
The knowledge and skills that Rosemary learns through BSP extends throughout her life. Most recently, she created a meeting group to share sustainable cleaning practices learned in BSP’s GJEP programs. The group consists of Spanish speaking women who provide home cleaning services living in her complex apartment building.
Rosemary and her friends meet every Saturday morning for coffee and bilingual conversations where she teaches them about recycling, energy conservation and the importance of reading chemical labels.
She believes that sharing with her community what she learned in class is extremely important because “it creates opportunities for women in the cleaning industry and protects the well-being of all living things,” she affirmed.
A special thanks to Service by Medallion for their partnership!
BSP is grateful for our industry employer partners that enable our organization to connect with workers and facilitate programs.
This collaboration improves the quality of life for janitorial service workers by providing them a chance to enhance their professional skills, access education, and experience opportunities for career and community advancement.