Bay Area Security Officers Get Ready to Strike

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.fogcityjournal.com/news_in_brief/jh_seiu_local_24_070908.shtml


SEIU Local 24/7 Security officers' union members and supporters marched through San Francisco's Financial District Thursday rallying for fair wages and affordable healthcare.
Bay Area security officers are the lowest paid in the property services industry.
Photos by John Han

By John Han

September 8, 2007

The security officers' union SEIU Local 24/7 is scheduled to vote next week whether to give union negotiators authorization to call a strike against the private security industry.

The vote is scheduled for Saturday, September 15 and was announced Thursday during a rally held in the Financial District in San Francisco. Union members are calling for fair wages and affordable healthcare for Bay Area security officers.

Tim Paulson, Executive Director of the San Francisco Labor Council, said the council had voted unanimously to grant SEIU Local 24/7 strike sanctions.


San Francisco Labor Council Executive Director Tim Paulson

The SEIU, Service Employees International Union, has 1.9 million members and represents 225,000 members in the building cleaning and security industries.

Bay Area security officers are the lowest paid workers in the building services industry.

Starting wage for a security guard in San Francisco is $11.30 per hour. Janitors receive $11.49 per hour. After two and a half years of experience a janitor will have accrued seniority based raises to $17.05 per hour while a security guard with equal experience remains at $11.85 per hour. SEIU members cited this as a "double standard".

FULL story and more photos at link.