After four years of organizing, officers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art employed by AlliedBarton Security Services have a union contract! The agreement, ratified by a majority of guards on April 18th, will increase wages by 14.5% over the life of the 3-year contract and will institute a grievance procedure and a seniority system.
“We are proud that our 4 year struggle has resulted in a better quality of life for our coworkers and families,” says Donald Lindsey, President of the union.
The union mounted a public pressure campaign which engaged supportive city council members, the Philadelphia labor movement, student activists, Jobs with Justice, and dozens of local faith leaders to win their victory against the nation’s second-largest security company.
Security guards are prevented from joining most labor unions due to the Section 9 (B) 3 of the National Labor Relations Act. This clause of the National Labor Relations Act states that security guards must join “security guard only unions,” of which there are few.
Portland Area Worker Rights Board hear testimony from Securitas worker and community members
Portland Jobs with Justice has been working hard to support Securitas workers who are organizing with Service Employees local 49. Since July we have helped organize for and participate in three delegations to management and organized a Workers’ Rights Board hearing and follow up from it.
Securitas,a multi-national corporation headquartered in Sweden, has signed a global agreement with UNI, the international union federation. This agreement commits them to remain neutral when workers organize and to recognize unions when workers organize. When presented with copies of the global agreement, local management didn’t know anything about it. Requests to discuss the situation were met with encouragement to call a phone number in Chicago.
In September, the 600+ workers in Portland reached majority support for their union and went back to local management asking that they recognize the union. Local management has thus far not recognized the union.
On December 9th, workers testified before a Workers’ Rights Board panel about their wages and working conditions and why they need a union. They also presented testimony about the
After two years of struggle at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Jobs with Justice (JwJ) and the security guards at the museum filed for union recognition this past September and won their election on October 10, 2009, forming the Philadelphia Security Officers Union (PSOU). This historic victory is a testament to hundreds of hours of volunteer work, the strategic campaign run by JwJ, the support of Philadelphians, and the dedication and fearlessness of the security guards who stood up for their rights on the job.
AlliedBarton, the security company that employs the guards, contested the election, and guards spent December awaiting a decision from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
On January 5th, the NLRB announced their decision in favor of the PSOU! Guards are currently working on their contract with AlliedBarton, and anticipate more obstacles to come. Will AlliedBarton slow down progress further by filing another frivolous appeal?
Check out this great segment on GRITtv about the workers’ struggle
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
The 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
The union mounted a public pressure campaign which engaged supportive city council members, the Philadelphia labor movement, student activists, Jobs with Justice, and dozens of local faith leaders to win their victory against the nation’s second-largest security company.
The 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.