Last Friday, security officers who work for Kaiser Permanente medical facilities won a big victory over irresponsible security contractor Inter-Con. -- a company that used threats, intimidation and termination tactics for three years against struggling officers supporting efforts to join a union.

This was a hard-earned victory for the 1,500 Kaiser security guards, who had been making poverty wages--as little as $10 an hour--with poor benefits and no paid sick leave while working under Inter-Con. New contractor Securitas, a company that is friendly to unions in many industries and client sectors throughout California, has committed to hire the security officers who currently protect Kaiser's facilities.

Watch this video of Inter-Con security officers speaking out, shot in May 2008 during the time when the security guards walked off the job at more than 15 Kaiser hospital facilities in Northern California. (And Seeing The Forest blogger Dave Johnson gives a great behind-the-scenes look at how the 3 day strike came to unfold in his Huffington Post piece, "Security Guards Striking for the Right to Have Our Laws Enforced"):

"We are thrilled and relieved that Inter-Con's scare tactics that we've endured for over three years will finally come to an end," said LaRhonda Lynch, a security officer at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. The new contract under Securitas will cover 1,800 workers nationwide, 1,500 of whom protect Kaiser facilities in California.