Eric Santiago and other ABC Security officers share their struggle at EBASE's anniversary dinner, September 2006.

If you attended EBASE’s anniversary dinner last September, you may remember that we told you, “It will be a new day, when ABC Security unionizes.”  Well, today is a new day!  The East Bay Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice is proud to have supported over 200 Oakland employees of ABC Security Service, Inc., who successfully organized to form a union with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 24/7.  

Today, security officers are among the top 10 fastest growing workforces in the nation, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.  There are more than 1 million private security officers on guard at buildings today. By 2010, this number is expected to increase to 1.5 million.  

Nationwide, for non-union security officers the median wage is less than $9 per hour.  One out of every four is paid less than $7.50 per hour.  With annual median salaries of about $19,000, security officers are at the federal poverty threshold for a family of four. Like many other low-wage workers, security officers must work a second job to make ends meet.  In addition, many officers and their families lack affordable healthcare.

In the Bay Area, security officers are predominantly African American and recent immigrants.  While security officers who worked for unionized security companies made about $13 per hour, non-union workers were still at the bottom of the economic ladder.  

To change these conditions, over 200 Oakland employees of ABC Security Service, Inc. organized to form a union with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 24/7.   EBASE and its Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (ICWJ) partnered with SEIU 24/7 to support the workers’ organizing efforts.  

When the Interfaith Committee first met with ABC workers, they described the challenges they faced, such as the company withholding checks from union supporters and suddenly transferring them to other worksites.  The Committee began organizing public support for the workers.  In May 2006, the clergy leaders of the ICWJ stood side by side with security officers on the steps of Oakland City Hall as we “Shined the Light on ABC” and raised prophetic voices in support of the workers.  Clergy presented a letter to City Council members from 55 local faith leaders calling on ABC to respect workers' rights.  It was a moving time of music and prayer for the workers that succeeded in forming a great partnership between clergy and workers.

Faith leaders visited ABC workers at home and on the job to hear their stories and offer spiritual support.  ABC tried to thwart the ICWJ’s efforts.  The company created an anti-union bulletin board in their front office that was disrespectful to our faith leaders’ efforts.  Nonetheless, our Committee persevered amidst the pressure.  We organized client visits to the customers of ABC and voiced to various managers and executives that their companies should be more responsible and not contract with an unfair employer like ABC.  

All of this activity led up to a moving action that took place as a part of the first statewide conference of Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice - California (CLUE-CA) in San Francisco.  On October 25, 2006, over 100 faith leaders who were attendees of the conference mounted a bus to the Port of San Francisco office (one of ABC’s clients) and rallied for security workers’ rights.  Our theme was “Parting the Red Sea!”  Clergy leaders from all over the state delivered moving speeches on how we as a community of faith must part the red sea of injustice and unfairness to workers.  We chanted, sang and prayed, then closed our time together marching side by side with workers parting huge red sheets which symbolized the Red Sea.  In our hands we held staffs which symbolized the call of the Prophet Moses who was called to lead his people out of bondage.  

Our efforts were successful! In December 2006, ABC Security agreed to be neutral in their employees' union organizing drive, after which workers joined with 3,500 other officers to be part of the Bay Area master contract. That master contract expires next month, which is a historic opportunity for security officers in the Bay Area to change their quality of life.  

Organizing one of the largest non-union security companies in the East Bay, and in a key national market, significantly advanced the largest organizing drive of African-American workers since the Pullman Porters.  SEIU’s Stand for Security campaign seeks to raise standards throughout the security industry and lift security workers out of poverty in the same way that the Justice for Janitors campaign did for janitorial workers.

The leaders of the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice played a critical part in this campaign.  Rev. Lucy Kolin, Rabbi David Cooper, Dr. Marvis People, Rosemary Brennan, Diana Wear, Rev. Ray Waespi, Rev. Norm Cram, Rev. Bob Matthews, Rev. Dr. Steve Churchill and a whole host of supporters and affirmers are to be thanked for their roles.  Congratulations to the workers of ABC Security Service and SEIU 24/7!

To learn more about the East Bay Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, please contact Ricky Jenkins at 510-893-1930, ext. 19 or ricky[at]workingeastbay.org.