Security guards marched to Miami Beach City Hall on Friday in a staged protest against Security Alliance ~ Photo © 2009 Carlos Miller, NBC Miami

In January, about seventy-five percent of the Security Alliance guards signed cards to form a union with SEIU--but since that time, he and the 50 or so security guards employed by Security Alliance of Florida in the Miami Beach area had been experiencing intimidation, scare tactics and harassment at the hands of their employer for exercising their rights to organize. Ruiz was the only one out of his coworkers who was willing to speak about their efforts to form a union on the record.

His reward for having the courage to speak out for what he believes in? Losing his job. "We are trying to make this city safer for everybody, but I was fired when they found out I was speaking out and wanted a union," said Richard Ruiz, who was terminated after working for more than two years for Security Alliance. "Employers shouldn't stop decent people from trying to have a better life."

Yesterday, SEIU Local 32BJ endorsed Michael Bloomberg for re-election. Why? Because Bloomberg has proven his commitment to working families, raising security industry standards and taking action to make sure out-of-work New Yorkers have the resources necessary to find employment.

32BJ's announcement followed a unanimous decision by the 32BJ executive board late Tuesday, capping a membership-driven, six month endorsement process. As part of this process, Mayor Bloomberg walked a day in the shoes of NYC security officer and 32BJ member Annie Davis - read the Mayor's take on the experience here. The Mayor is a big supporter of 32BJ's efforts to raise industry standards, increase training and improve the working conditions of NYC's security officers.

Making NYC a more sustainable living environment & creating green jobs: Bloomberg has worked closely with 32BJ on green building projects to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of City government, commercial, and residential buildings. He has introduced four "green" bills that would significantly improve the City's environment through reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions--which are much higher in NYC than any other city. The legislation has the potential to create hundreds of jobs for workers trained in green retrofitting, which falls in line with 32BJ's ambitious new Green training program aimed at providing 1,000 building superintendents with the skills needed to save energy, money and protect our environment.

Bloomberg also plans to open new Workforce 1 Centers and expanding their hours so they can place New Yorkers in over 20,000 jobs this year, on top of the 68,000 New Yorkers that have already been placed in jobs since the program was implemented.

Read 32BJ's endorsement statement here.

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.

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."

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."

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.

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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.

Today more than 30,000 private security officers nationwide have come together to form a union with SEIU and together have won wage increases, increased training, and affordable health benefits. Together we have built a strong voice to bring more professionalism and respect to private security and these two videos of SEIU members are proof of that.

In this video, Fordham University security officer David Beckford discusses the reasons why he and his fellow security officers came together to form a union with SEIU.

In this second video, Louise Nelson, a security officer in New York City and a SEIU member recites an original poem, "What Price is Security?" which beautifully illustrates the necessity of public safety, but at a high cost to non-union security officers.

Member Organizer Marco Villar from SEIU Local 1 in Chicago

Hundreds of security officers represented by SEIU spoke with more than 500 officers who currently don't have a union in 12 cities, signing them up to take action on the important worker legislation.

"We all just want the chance to join the middle class," said Steve Tilsley, a Securitas security officer in Denver, Colorado. "The Employee Free Choice act will help restore fairness in the workplace, and that is something we can all agree we need."

SEIU represents more than 30,000 security officers and is the largest security officers union in the country. Stay tuned at www.StandForSecurity.org to follow the security officers around the country.