70% and Rising: The Latino Workforce Driving the Cleaning Industry
At the ISSA VEO conference in Chicago, VEO Media relations specialist Guillermo Meneses visits with Yuritcy Gonzalez of KleenMark for a candid conversation about representation, community, and momentum in the cleaning industry.
Gonzalez shares how it feels to be at a first-of-its-kind gathering—exciting, empowering, and a little overwhelming—in the best way. She underscores why VEO matters now: Visibility for Latino professionals, acknowledgement of their outsized role in the workforce (now at 70% and rising), and the chance to be seen not just as service providers but as integral contributors to the city, the industry, and the country.
Watch the Spanish version of this interview here.
Meneses and Gonzalez dig into the power of connection—especially bilingual outreach—to make sure companies know these communities are here and thriving. Gonzalez describes how events like VEO spark action: you meet peers, you spread the word, you bring colleagues next time. She recalls a recent ISSA Hygieia conference encounter where a fellow panelist hadn’t heard of VEO; a simple conversation led to a new participant showing up in Chicago. That’s the network effect in real time.
The discussion doesn’t shy away from context. Gonzalez notes we’re operating in challenging, volatile times, which makes convenings like VEO essential for support, learning, and shared purpose. Recognition also takes center stage: as a VEO awards nominee, Gonzalez talks about gratitude, humility, and what it means to see leaders who look like the communities they serve. Her takeaway is simple and contagious: “If I can do it, anybody can do it.”
Whether you’re a facility leader, a service provider, or part of a frontline team, this conversation is a reminder that representation fuels progress, bilingual communication widens the tent, and showing up—at conferences, in conversations, and for each other—changes what’s possible.
Interested in shaping the future of VEO?
Consider joining our ISSA VEO Committee to help guide programming and initiatives throughout the year.
