In ballots counted Saturday, the tally was 315-6 in favor of ratification, Service Employees International Union Local 26 announced. The contract covers some 800 private security officers employed by ABM, Allied Barton, American, Securitas, and Viking.
In addition to affordable health care, the contract includes higher wages, sick leave, seniority provisions and safety training, the union said.
The workers\' win defied the conventional wisdom that in a time of recession, workers can\'t make gains, Local 26 President Javier Morillo said. "This is precisely the time the community has to invest in those who make the least and work the hardest."
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| With the affordable family health coverage in the new contract, security officer Howard Worley said he will be able to pay for the immunizations needed for his four-year-old son, Vernon, to attend nursery school. |
• Affordable health care for full-time security officers for the first time ever. The cost of single coverage will drop to $20 per month and family coverage to $260 per month.
• Wage increases of 25 to 32 percent that begin to lift working families out of poverty. Wages will increase by at least 50 cents in each year, with some officers seeing increases of up to $3.20 over the course of the contract.
• A process for building stronger training and equipment standards to improve public safety in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Officers at Block E in downtown Minneapolis have already been fitted for bullet-proof vests as a result of heightened public awareness due to security officers\' efforts.
• Sick days that will allow full-time security officers to access the health care they need to stay healthy at work.
• Two security officers who were suspended by Securitas for participating in civil disobedience were reinstated.
The new contract expires in December 2012, when contracts also expire for security officers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and several other cities – allowing Local 26 to be part of a nationwide effort to raise standards, Morillo said.
While members enjoy their new benefits, the union will step up its efforts to organize security officers at Wackenhut, Hannon and other non-union security companies in the Twin Cities.
The union also hopes the settlement will give a boost to contract talks for Local 26-represented window cleaners, said Eric Salminen, a member of the bargaining committee. The next negotiations session is Wednesday, he said.
At the ratification vote, Local 26 members vowed to support the window cleaners, joining picketlines if necessary.
The security officers\' win was the result of a carefully coordinated campaign that included a one-day strike, two civil disobedience actions at downtown Minneapolis office buildings and the rejection of one contract offer.
"The broader community was deeply, deeply engaged in this fight," Morillo noted. "People saw this as not just about security officers, but about all of us."
A key partner was the Workers Interfaith Network, an organization of faith and labor leaders that participated in civil disobedience actions and kept up pressure on building owners and security companies.
"More people aren\'t in their religious communities because they have to spend more time at work," said Matt Gladue, WIN executive director. "This struggle became our struggle."
For more information
Visit the Workday special section on the Stand for Security campaign
 |
| Security officer Todd Brown (above, right) votes on the union contract at a table staffed by fellow member Darrell Siewert. One of two security officers suspended by Securitas for engaging in civil disobedience, Siewert won his job back as part of the contract settlement. "They shot themselves in the foot by suspending me, because then I had a lot more time to work with the union," Siewert said. Below, Local 26 President Javier Morillo and staffer Greg Nammacher review the successful contract campaign. |
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In ballots counted Saturday, the tally was 315-6 in favor of ratification, Service Employees International Union Local 26 announced. The contract covers some 800 private security officers employed by ABM, Allied Barton, American, Securitas, and Viking.
In addition to affordable health care, the contract includes higher wages, sick leave, seniority provisions and safety training, the union said.
The workers\’ win defied the conventional wisdom that in a time of recession, workers can\’t make gains, Local 26 President Javier Morillo said. "This is precisely the time the community has to invest in those who make the least and work the hardest."
|
| With the affordable family health coverage in the new contract, security officer Howard Worley said he will be able to pay for the immunizations needed for his four-year-old son, Vernon, to attend nursery school. |
The five-year agreement includes the following improvements:
• Affordable health care for full-time security officers for the first time ever. The cost of single coverage will drop to $20 per month and family coverage to $260 per month.
• Wage increases of 25 to 32 percent that begin to lift working families out of poverty. Wages will increase by at least 50 cents in each year, with some officers seeing increases of up to $3.20 over the course of the contract.
• A process for building stronger training and equipment standards to improve public safety in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Officers at Block E in downtown Minneapolis have already been fitted for bullet-proof vests as a result of heightened public awareness due to security officers\’ efforts.
• Sick days that will allow full-time security officers to access the health care they need to stay healthy at work.
• Two security officers who were suspended by Securitas for participating in civil disobedience were reinstated.
The new contract expires in December 2012, when contracts also expire for security officers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and several other cities – allowing Local 26 to be part of a nationwide effort to raise standards, Morillo said.
While members enjoy their new benefits, the union will step up its efforts to organize security officers at Wackenhut, Hannon and other non-union security companies in the Twin Cities.
The union also hopes the settlement will give a boost to contract talks for Local 26-represented window cleaners, said Eric Salminen, a member of the bargaining committee. The next negotiations session is Wednesday, he said.
At the ratification vote, Local 26 members vowed to support the window cleaners, joining picketlines if necessary.
The security officers\’ win was the result of a carefully coordinated campaign that included a one-day strike, two civil disobedience actions at downtown Minneapolis office buildings and the rejection of one contract offer.
"The broader community was deeply, deeply engaged in this fight," Morillo noted. "People saw this as not just about security officers, but about all of us."
A key partner was the Workers Interfaith Network, an organization of faith and labor leaders that participated in civil disobedience actions and kept up pressure on building owners and security companies.
"More people aren\’t in their religious communities because they have to spend more time at work," said Matt Gladue, WIN executive director. "This struggle became our struggle."
For more information
Visit the Workday special section on the Stand for Security campaign
|
| Security officer Todd Brown (above, right) votes on the union contract at a table staffed by fellow member Darrell Siewert. One of two security officers suspended by Securitas for engaging in civil disobedience, Siewert won his job back as part of the contract settlement. "They shot themselves in the foot by suspending me, because then I had a lot more time to work with the union," Siewert said. Below, Local 26 President Javier Morillo and staffer Greg Nammacher review the successful contract campaign. |
|
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