-U.S. Security Associates stymied workers’ fight for workplace rights.-
New York, NY – March 29, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Security officers by the hundreds rallied in support of colleagues who work for private security contractor U.S. Security Associates (USSA) at the Sony Corporation’s North American headquarters building on Madison Avenue. USSA has repeatedly stood in the way of workers’ attempts to gain better working conditions, wages, training and benefits by violating their right to organize.
USSA has responded to workers’ efforts to organize for better conditions by retaliating with a campaign of unlawful intimidation.
Kenesha Henry, a veteran of the U.S. Army and a mother of a 4-year-old girl, said she is concerned about sick days and other employment benefits. After four years on the job for USSA, she said she gets one sick day and one week of vacation per year.
“I am a parent. What am I supposed to do when my child is sick for more than one day?” said Henry, a Brooklyn resident.
Following the rally at 550 Madison Avenue, the security officers and their supporters will march 10 blocks through Midtown.
32BJ Secretary-Treasurer Hector Figueroa said workers are fighting to be treated with respect.
“New York’s working people need family-supporting wages to live in dignity,” Figueroa said. “No one who works for a living should be in poverty. Especially in this expensive city, decent wages and benefits are critical.”
32BJ represents more than 10,000 security officers who protect commercial office buildings, higher education facilities, government facilities, museums, libraries, stadiums and other high profile sites in the city including the Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, Yankee Stadium, Fordham and Columbia Universities, all three of New York City area airports, the George Washington Bridge, the World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
32BJ is in the process of bargaining contracts covering some 10,000 security officers that are set to expire this year. Next up in the efforts to professionalize the security industry are the city’s commercial office buildings, with the contract for officers working at these locations set to expire on March 30th. Irresponsible contractors undermine those efforts.
“Our fight to raise standards across the security industry isn’t just about getting new contracts for security officers. It’s about demanding respect on the job,” Figueroa said.
At the Sony Building, another source of frustration for the security officers is a pay card system that USSA imposed on workers that extracts fees for things like getting account balances and withdrawals.
With more than 120,000 members in eight states and Washington D.C., including 70,000 in the New York area, 32BJ is the largest property services union in the country.
Contact:
Michael O. Allen: 212-388-3805;
917-494-6197
Maia Davis: 212-388-3696
