After several months of organizing to demand livable wages, health insurance, training and better working conditions, 850 Securitas workers at Los Angeles County and other public facilities will be officially recognized as members of SEIU SOULA. "This is a good first step in raising the standards for these officers. The hard work begins now in trying to negotiate a first contract during these tough economics times," said SEIU SOULA Executive Director Anton Farmby.

Just this summer, 2,000 security officers with SEIU who protect Kaiser Permanente hospitals nationwide signed a three-year contract with Securitas. That contract included wage increases, improved healthcare, paid sick days and holidays. A pending card count of additional officers would bump the number of newly recognized officers up to 1100-- 90 percent of the public work force.

It's time to call a spade a spade.

By using scare tactics - with phrases like "death panels" and "kill grandma," the health insurance industry and other opponents of change have turned the historic opportunity of real health care reform into a political game.

They are insulting your intelligence. They think that by exploiting your fears, you'll want to keep health care as it is today: a broken system with skyrocketing costs.

On Saturday, 2,000 security officers who guard Kaiser Permanente facilities ratified a three-year contract with the largest security company in the world, Securitas. The victory by officers at Kaiser holds historic national significance--it is the first-ever national contract for private security officers. Officers will now have family healthcare and a wage increase of 40 cents per hour each year of the contract.

Among the gains officers have won as a result of this contract:

• Healthcare: Officers will now have healthcare with no deductibles, no cost for hospitalization, and $10 co-pays for doctor visits and prescriptions.
  
• Wages: New minimum wage rates set for all regions. Hourly wage increase of $.40 per year over life of the three year contract--so $1.20 total over the three years.
  
• Paid leave: Officers will receive two days per year of paid sick leave, and two days paid bereavement leave. A total of seven days per year will be granted for paid holidays.
  
• Job protections: Security officers stationed at Kaiser will be protected by a grievance procedure that prevents their employer from unfair and arbitrary treatment--providing a realm of job security that will truly make a difference in the guards' working environment.

It's pretty inspiring to see how far these hard working security officers have come over the past few years. Prior to being employed by Securitas, Kaiser guards endured almost four years of threats, intimidation and termination tactics while they struggled to form a union after working without a collective bargaining agreement for 15 years under contractor Inter-Con. During the years these guards were fighting for a voice on the job, they were making poverty wages and receiving very poor benefits--with absolutely no paid sick leave.

Three years without seeing a doctor? Not anymore
"Now that we have this new health care, I feel secure that if I get sick, or my kids get sick, I won't be afraid to take them to the doctor," said Dale Brown, a SEIU Local 24/7 member who works at Kaiser's South Sacramento hospital. "I haven't seen a doctor in almost three years, but now I can get all my necessary doctor visits and be comfortable about it," rejoiced Brown, who is the working mother of a 14-year-old daughter and a 20-year old son in college.

1,600 of the 2,000 officers who protect Kaiser Permanente facilities nationwide work at facilities in California. Other Securitas workers employed at facilities throughout four other states (including the DC metro area and Denver) are expected to vote on the proposed contract this week.

A new government report released yesterday has dropped a bombshell on the state of private security and its ability to protect our nation's most important buildings.

In a routine check on the state of private security for our nation's federal buildings, investigators were able to sneak explosive materials inside - get this - a total of 10 out of 10 times.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security has said that poor management on the part of private security companies is a big part of the problem, with insufficient training given by the companies.

Here's what the report found:

• Only 13,000 private security officers are assigned to a total of 9,000 federal buildings.
• In one region that was investigated, officers haven't been trained on x-ray machines in over five years - since 2004.

While officials are vowing to fix the problem - and they say it will take a while - we know that it shouldn't take these kinds of reports to make the changes necessary to keep our buildings safe.

Every day, security officers witness this kind of poor management first hand, but are often afraid to speak out in fear of unjust retribution.

It's time for practices like this to end. Security officers need to be able to carry out their jobs well so that they're better prepared to be the "first" first responders in an emergency.

Watch the video and sign our petition.

Last week, the Washington Post published an opinion piece authored by Valarie Long, the Vice President of SEIU Local 32BJ, which represents approximately 10,000 security officers across the Northeast.

In the piece, Long recognizes the importance of the job that security officers perform each and every day, raises the need for improved standards in the private security industry, and offers her condolences to the family of Officer Johns.

Here's what she writes:

The tragedy at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was a painful reminder that private security officers often are our first line of defense and that these modestly paid men and women risk their lives to keep us safe. As we mourn Stephen T. Johns, we can honor his memory by raising security industry standards.

It's in everyone's best interest to ensure that security officers are well prepared to handle emergencies and are treated with the respect they deserve for their brave service.

You can view the piece on the Washington Post here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/16/AR2009061602913.html

No doubt, you've likely heard about yesterday's tragic shooting incident at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, where security officer Stephen T. Johns tragically lost his life.

The event is a bitter reminder about the importance of these brave men and women who serve as the "first line of defense against a terrorist attack," and the methods that can be taken to ensure their safety while on the job. All in all, there are more than 1 million private security officers in the United States - nearly twice the number of police officers.

On this morning's Today Show, the director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Sara Bloomfield, paid tribute to Officer Johns and commended the entire security team for their bravery and heroism:

"Everything happened yesterday as we train for these things. And as I think you've reported, two of our officers did attack this assailant and none of our visitors were hurt, so we feel that this actually worked extremely well, in terms of how many lives were saved in this incident. And again, we want to commend our officers who responded so well and pay tribute to Officer Johns, who also behaved so heroically in this incident."

As members of a union, the security officers at the Holocaust Museum are especially trained to deal with situations like the one from yesterday.

In an interview with the Center for American Progress' ThinkProgress, Steve Maritas, the organizing director of the union that represents them, said the following:

"These guys are security police professionals, which is a whole different level of training compared to security guards...When they train these guys, they're trained on more of a terrorism level."

The unfortunate incident also speaks to the need for better safety on the job. According to the Washington Post, Officer Johns did not have a protective, "bullet-proof" vest that could have aided him during the incident.

Great news for New York City security officers!

From the New York Times:

A labor union representing security guards stationed at dozens of municipal facilities, including the Staten Island Ferry Terminals and the Municipal Building, has reached a deal with the guards' private employers that calls for as much as a 26 percent pay raise over three years and for the first time provides the guards with health insurance.

That "labor union" representing security guards is none other than SEIU Local 32BJ and after months of negotiations with national security contractors Allied Barton and FJC Security Services of Long Island, security officers have won new union contracts that provide significant wage increases, employer-paid family health care and benefits for some 3,000 city-contracted security officers over three years.

This victory is a testament to the security officers that came together to form a union and bargain collectively for not only better wages and benefits, but the promise of raising standards for security officers in NYC.

For six months, the SEIU 32BJ negotiated on behalf of security officers protecting city buildings and facilities in all five boroughs.  The two new agreements raise officers' wages to private-sector wages of over $13 an hour. Officers also gain employer- paid family health coverage, paid days off, 401K and advanced security training.

Allied Barton employs 1,100 security officers who work at more than 100 City facilities throughout the City, including the Municipal Building in Manhattan, Staten Island Ferry Terminals and Brooklyn Boroug Hall. FJC Security Services employs 1,820 security officers who protect sites in the City's Human Resources Administration agency and Department of Homeless Services.

These city-contracted workers now join thousands of other 32BJ members who have won contracts improving security standards in the private sector. 

Please join me in the comments (below) by offering a well deserved congratulations to the security officers of SEIU 32BJ.

Sign up for updates about security officers around the country.

Healthcare cuts are hurting working families and our communities

Security officers at Kaiser Permanente medical facilities are fighting cuts to their healthcare. The 1,800 officers at Kaiser are employed by Securitas, the largest security company in the world. Even though they protect hospitals, patients, and medical staff at the country's largest non-profit healthcare organization, many security officers now face the impossible choice of putting food on the table or getting medical care for themselves or their family members.

Securitas implemented a series of rollbacks in February that have made healthcare too expensive for many officers and their families.

Deductibles are now sky high--costing $1,000 for just single coverage.
- Prescription drug costs have tripled. Many officers now cannot afford to fill their prescriptions, and some have even resorted to taking medication every other day.
- Routine and preventative care such as doctor visits, blood work, and lab tests now have very high fees. For example, an officer would now have to pay $1,000 for a MRI.
- Co-pays have doubled and even tripled in some cases.

Earning as little as as little as $10.40 an hour, security officers at Kaiser are struggling to pay their bills, put food on the table, and support their families.

Jagdeep Singh, mother of three: "My kids are generally healthy, but they can get sick easily at school. I tell them they can't get sick and just to take Tylenol, because we can't afford to go to the doctor. I just take over-the-counter medicines to avoid getting sick."

Security officers provide a vital service of protection. Members of the public, healthcare providers and patients benefit when security professionals are healthy and receive the care they and their families need.

"For me and for so many of my co-workers, the main issue is our healthcare," said Annie Davis, a 54-year-old New York security officer and SEIU Local 32BJ member during her day-long visit with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "We don't have sick days. We don't get paid for holidays. It's not even so much our wages, it's the benefits...We are doing some of the most important jobs in the city. "

Davis, who works in the lobby of the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in downtown NYC, makes $11.75 an hour with no days off and no medical coverage. She is one of 1,100 guards at 20 agencies throughout the city who work for private contractor Allied Barton and are considering going on strike by the end of May if things don't improve.

According to Mayor Bloomberg, his day spent with security officer Annie Brown "renewed his appreciation" for what workers go through every day to makes end meet in New York and take care of their families. On his campaign blog, Mayor Bloomberg reflects back on his day spent with Brown as part of Local 32BJ's "Walk a Day in My Shoes" campaign, acknowledging that in spite of the initiatives his administration has invested in to improve the training and compensation of NY's security officers, there's "much more to be done" to ensure the "security guards [that play] a pivotal role in keeping all eight million of us safe" are "well-paid, well-trained, and well-treated." Read the Mayor's blog here.

"Walking a day with a working New Yorker shouldn't just be a prerequisite for our union's endorsement, but a requirement for the job," said 32BJ President Mike Fishman of the local union's "Walk a Day in My Shoes" campaign to get every elected official to experience firsthand what life is like for working people. Mayor Bloomberg is the second NYC mayoral candidate to have taken part in the campaign, after City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. walked a day in the shoes of 32BJ member Lateef Rivers last week, spending part of Rivers' shift with him at the Brooklyn Municipal Building.

Read more about about Mayor Bloomberg's and Mr. Thompson's walk-a-days with SEIU 32BJ members in the NY Daily News and the NY Times. Video of Mayor Bloomberg's day with Annie Brown at NY1 here.

The 5,000 member SEIU-SOULA (Security Officers United in Los Angeles) Local 2006 will join community organizations in a three-mile march to commemorate the 41st anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death. The march will focus on the issues that Dr. King fought for all his life: quality jobs, quality education, safe neighborhoods--and, of course, the link between civil rights and labor movements that Dr. King worked so hard to forge.

"The coalition that can have the greatest impact in the struggle for human dignity here in America is that of the blacks and forces of labor, because their fortunes are so closely intertwined," said Dr. King. "Our needs are identical with labor's needs: Decent wages, fair working conditions, liveable housing, old-age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children, and respect in the community."

Speaking about the focus on quality jobs, SEIU-SOULA President Faith Culbreath said, "We want to make sure that jobs become good jobs...that the community can benefit from." Read about the April 4th LA march event.

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.

During three-year struggle officers who protect Kaiser Permanente facilities were fired, threatened and interrogated for union support

OAKLAND, CA - Security officers responsible for protecting patients and staff at Kaiser Permanente medical facilities nationwide won a major victory over an irresponsible security contractor after a three-year struggle where officers seeking to join SEIU faced threats, intimidation and termination for union support.

Kaiser Permanente replaced the irresponsible contractor, Inter-Con, with a new contractor called Securitas, a company that is union in many industries and client sectors throughout California.

"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. "Now we can decide for ourselves to join with SEIU so we can raise standards and improve security at our facilities."

Since November 2005, 1,500 Inter-Con security officers in California have been working to improve security and working conditions by forming a union with SEIU. They are the only workers at Kaiser--either direct employees or subcontracted--who do not have a union. The new contractor, Securitas, has committed to hire the security officers that currently protect Kaiser's facilities and has previously ensured that other officers in California had a fair process to form a union with SEIU.

Inter-Con officers work for poverty wages, many making as little as $10 per hour while at Kaiser. Most do not have paid sick days and many do not have any health insurance. By comparison, security officers employed directly by Kaiser have paid family healthcare, paid sick leave, and a pension.

Supported by SEIU Locals 24/7 and SOULA 2006, Inter-Con security officers went on strike last summer and have been working to convince Kaiser Permanente to switch to a responsible contractor. The new contract will cover 1,800 workers nationwide, 1,500 of whom protect Kaiser facilities in California.

"I'm a single mother, and the current insurance plan is too expensive for me to enroll my two kids," said Dale Brown, a security officer in Sacramento. Plus, without paid sick days I can't afford to get sick or to use my own insurance. If were to miss even one week I would be in danger of losing my apartment. I'm happy that we were able to convince Kaiser to do the right thing."

Over the last three years, over 7,000 security officers across California have joined SEIU and improved their working conditions, wages and health care coverage. In 2008, security officers with Local 24/7 in Oakland and SOULA Local 2006 in Los Angeles won first contracts that are among the best ever for security officers. Total compensation--wages and healthcare--increased by nearly forty percent.

"With our nation's economy in crisis, it's more important than ever that hardworking families have good-paying, stable jobs that provide the opportunity to move into the middle class," stated California Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico. "Kaiser has done the right thing by replacing a contractor accused of violating the civil rights of workers. Now these workers will have the chance to earn a decent wage and have the health care that they need to support and care for their families."

SEIU Local 24/7 and SOULA 2006 are part of SEIU United Service Workers West, representing more than 40,000 janitors, security officers, airport service workers, and other property service workers across California. SEIU is the fastest growing labor union in the Americas with more than 2 million members.

In a thoughtful article, the Wall Street Journal writes, "The SEIU, whose ranks include nurses and other health-care workers along with workers ranging from janitors to security officers, supports Mr. Obama's health-care plan and wants states and local governments to receive financial relief in a recovery package. Also high on the SEIU's list is the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for unions to organize workers by gathering signatures in favor of certification rather than via lengthy secret balloting."

Read the full article.

Agreement paves way for partnership on mutual goals

WASHINGTON, DC - The Service Employees International Union (SEIU)--the nation's largest union of property services workers--has reached an agreement with The Wackenhut Corporation. The Wackenhut Corporation, the second-largest security company in the United States and a subsidiary of G4S plc, has over 35,000 employees and delivers integrated security and related services to commercial, industrial, and government organizations.

The agreement brings an end to a long dispute and establishes an agreed upon framework to work together in interest of security officers.

"We are encouraged by The Wackenhut leadership's willingness to open dialogue that ultimately resulted in a settlement that will move both our institutions forward productively, said Valarie Long, the SEIU Property Services Division's chief negotiator in the settlement discussions. "This is a positive step forward for security officers and their families all over the country."

Over a thousand security officers represented by Service Employees International Union Local 615 in Boston announced a tentative agreement yesterday after opening negotiations last July with the three of the largest security companies in the area, Allied Barton, Securitas and Northeast Security.

The tentative agreement follows on the heels of a major push by the union this fall to get its new members a contract they badly need to boost wages and improve working conditions. In these tough economic times, security guards have been struggling - and failing - to make ends meet on $11 an hour. Company health insurance is often too expensive to buy, and many downtown guards don't even get paid sick days or vacation time. And even as they hold down key posts in a post-9/11 society, downtown security guards typically take home less pay than the janitors who clean the same buildings.

The organization of security officers to join SEIU Local 615 is the largest effort to unionize African Americans in the city of Boston's history. Learn more at www.StandForMASecurity.org.

SEIU Security Officers United in Los Angeles Local 2006 (SOULA) announced Jan. 26, 2008 they have achieved a ratified agreement on their first union contract. The contract will be the best-ever of its kind in the country, raising total compensation--wages and healthcare--by nearly 40 percent for more than 4,000 hard-working Angelenos.

"We're all thrilled," said Michael Johnson, security officer on the bargaining committee. "Finally I can take care of my family like a man, and do for them how I've always dreamed, just to give them opportunities that I never had." Michael Johnson, like many security officers, works two full time jobs just to make ends meet.

This historic announcement marks an end to the negotiations that began in
June 2007. Security officers struggled against the city's corporate
building owners for more than five years to form the union of their
choice with SEIU. SEIU Security Officers United in Los Angeles (SOULA)
Local 2006 was established in June, 2006.

Read the Los Angeles Times coverage

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SEIU's national "Stand for Security"campaign is the largest organizing effort of mostly African American workers in history, with the potential to impact the lives of up to at least 200,000 security workers and their families nationwide. That's hundreds of thousands more than the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters organized in the 1920s and 1930s, a watershed moment that helped form the black middle class.

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 2006 Security Officers United in Los Angeles (SOULA) is leading the largest organizing drive among African American workers in the history of the labor movement, with a potential to impact the lives of up to 200,000 predominately African American security officers and their families nationwide. SEIU United Service Workers West represents nearly 10,000 security officers in California. SEIU is the nation's largest security officers union, representing 55,000 nationwide.