The suspensions came as Twin Cities security officers prepared to honor the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by holding civil disobedience trainings at schools and churches around the metropolitan area. Service Employees International Union Local 26 said the companies illegally retaliated against the two workers and it has filed unfair labor practice charges against Securitas with the National Labor Relations Board.

The union already had filed a number of charges with the NLRB as negotiations dragged on between Local 26 and five Twin Cities security companies. The union represents 800 security officers who have been working without a contract since Jan. 1. The chief stumbling block in the talks is affordable health care.

The security officers rejected a final offer from the companies, then held a one-day strike Feb. 25. It was followed by two civil disobedience demonstrations at downtown office buildings, the last involving nine local security officers. It is believed to be the first time in U.S. history that security officers took the extraordinary measure of principled non-compliance with the law.

"It\'s our job to protect and defend our community every day, and that\'s exactly what we did last Thursday," said Darrell Siewert, a security officer for the Minneapolis Public Housing Agency who participated in the March 27 civil disobedience in the Crystal Court. "We\'re standing up for affordable health care for every Minnesotan, but these companies would rather try to intimidate us than address the problem."

Siewert said he has been forced to file for bankruptcy multiple times due to medical debt and recently had his vehicle repossessed for the same reason.

The union said another strike could come at any time and is urging the security companies to return to the bargaining table to address the health care issue.

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