Workers Picket City Shelter for Youth and Sex Trafficking Victims

There's some labor unrest over at Janus Youth, the social services provider that secured a $285,000 city contract to provide shelter space for sex trafficked teens. This morning, workers and members of the International Workers of the World (IWW) lined NE Couch outside Janus's administrative headquarters, shouting chants and waving signs accusing Janus of pushing an unfair contract in union negotiations.

The workers for Janus program Harry's Mother and the downtown Street Light Youth Shelter say Janus has not granted them a wage raise administrators promised would arrive after inking the city contract. Janus Youth runs 20 programs for roughly 6,000 troubled kids in the Portland area annually. Thanks to an infusion of city and county dollars, the shelter associated with Harry's Mother now offers four beds specifically for underage sex trafficking victims.

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