Philadelphia Security Officers Union Wins Election!

By , on October 13th, 2009

PSOU

The two year effort to form an independent labor union for the AlliedBarton security guards at the world famous Philadelphia Museum of Art finally resulted in a victory for the union this weekend.  The formerly unionized guards lost their union in 1992 when the jobs were privatized by then Mayor Ed Rendell.

“It is hard for any group of workers to join a union,” says Cecelia Lynch, museum guard and union activist.  “But we knew that it was the only hope that we had to fix the problems that we faced on the job.”

It is rare and difficult for a group of workers to form their own independent union.

The newly formed Philadelphia Security Officers Union (PSOU) was created by guards from around the city and by the Philadelphia Jobs with Justice over a two year period.

“We hope that AlliedBarton will now work with us to agree on a fair contract in a reasonable amount of time,”  says Fabricio Rodriguez, Executive Director of Jobs with Justice.

The union provides some hope to a growing segment of Philadelphia’s workforce, private security guards.  Guards currently lack union

Continue reading Philadelphia Security Officers Union Wins Election!

October 13th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Unions | Comments are closed

Will your tax money be used to intimidate workers?

By , on September 16th, 2009

Cross-posted from the Philadelphia JwJ Blog.

One of the main road blocks that workers face to exercising their rights on the job is the powerful and frightening coercive power that an employer has over an employee.

Imagine an election in which the party in power could force you to attend mandatory meetings to tell you why you should not vote for the other party. Imagine the party in power could also make you lose your job, and harass your neighbors who support the opposition party. The party in power could bring in professional campaigners (lawyers and anti-union consultants) to help them win their election. They were guaranteed access to the voters every day leading up to the election — but the opposition party could only campaign in secret and when their volunteers happened to catch other voters at home. Let’s say that the party in power could also sit you down, all by yourself, and interrogate you to see how you intended on voting?

Sounds pretty intimidating, huh? Well these are the troubles that the security guards at the Philadelphia Museum of Art are bound to face in the next thirty days as they try to form a

Continue reading Will your tax money be used to intimidate workers?

September 16th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Labor Law Reform, Unions | Comments are closed

Guards at Philadelphia Museum of Art Welcome Change with Video Message

By , on August 26th, 2009

When security officers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art rallied against a recent roll-back of their $0.25/hr raise, they never guessed that their efforts would become an example in the nationwide debate over the Employee Free Choice Act.  That’s what happened after an article by Sarah Jaffe appeared on the website of The Nation Magazine.

The guards hope that the arrival of the museum’s new director, Timothy Rub, will prompt workplace improvements.  Thus far, they have they tried to communicate with Mr. Rub via written letters and phone calls.  Their requests remain unanswered, so the guards decided to translate their message into a language sympathetic to the ears of the museum leaders: art.  Today, the film entitled “Welcoming Change: A Message To Timothy Rub,” directed by David Stuart Randle from local media organization Media Mobilizing Project, will be released on the internet and will premier on screen at 4205 Chestnut St at 6:30 pm.  The film will also be mailed to 100 local churches.

 

The security guards, with the help of Philadelphia JwJ, began organizing

Continue reading Guards at Philadelphia Museum of Art Welcome Change with Video Message

August 26th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Labor Law Reform, Unions | Comments are closed

Philly Guards’ Efforts Provide a Local Look at Employee Free Choice Act

By , on August 14th, 2009

AlliedBartonThe debate over the Employee Free Choice Act is going to heat up in the next few weeks. In Philadelphia, there is an effort underway that stands out as an example of why we need to pass this critical labor law reform.

A group of AlliedBarton security officers have been struggling since 2005 to win better wages and benefits.  Over the years they have used innovative direct-action strategies to win union level wages at the University of Pennsylvania and paid sick days at Temple University, Drexel University and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Despite these victories, they have watched as their hard fought gains have been eroded by their employer.  For example, on Labor Day last year, the Philadelphia Museum of Art announced that they would give the security guards three days of paid sick leave.  The very next week, after the news cameras had gone away, the new benefit was clarified.  Workers were eligible to have up to three days of paid sick leave.  In order to get that level of benefit, they had to have been employed, full time, at the same property for three years. In fact, less than 1/3 of the

Continue reading Philly Guards’ Efforts Provide a Local Look at Employee Free Choice Act

August 14th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Labor Law Reform, Unions | Comments are closed