With their union contract set to expire April 27, more than 300 security officers and supporters rallied Saturday and marched through downtown to call on owners and managers of commercial office buildings to protect Chicago by investing in security. 

Though retaining experienced, well-trained, highly-qualified security officers is more vital than ever to protecting our city, some Chicago security officers’ wages start below the poverty line and training of officers is inconsistent and often not encouraged. 

“Security officers are expected to know how to protect the public and the valuable buildings where we work – which is a lot of responsibility – but we aren’t valued,” said Teresa Sanchez, who has been a security officer at 161 N. Clark for 10 years.  “How can Chicago expect to keep good officers who take their jobs seriously, if we don’t reward them equal to their responsibility?”

Security officers were joined by aldermen, state legislators and religious leaders who pledged to support their effort to raise standards for Chicago security officers and protect our city.
   
“Security is on the front lines—it’s not just Iraq; it’s not just Afghanistan; it’s right here in downtown Chicago,” said State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-13) whose district includes many downtown commercial office buildings.  “You all are working on a daily basis to protect the citizens of the city of Chicago, I stand with you.”

Religious leaders pledged support for the officers as well, saying that keeping officers wages and status low hurts the communities were they live. 

“All of Chicago has a stake in what security officers are fighting for,” said the Reverend Gregory Daniels, Liaison on Politics and Community Affairs for the Baptist Pastors Conference of Chicago and Vicinity, who pledged the support of the organization’s 500 churches and one million members. “We need to turn security officers’ jobs into good jobs that allow security officers to support their families in dignity and support their communities. As Rev. King said injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

More than 60 percent of the 1,800 security officers who work downtown live on the south and west sides of Chicago.  A raise of just 50 cents an hour would mean $1.2 million a year in additional wages flowing back into those communities—money that would help people buy and maintain homes, send their kids to college, and support or open small business in those communities.
 
Though Chicago had once been held up as a model for creating a stable, professional security force, a new report by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1 finds that the combination of low pay, high turnover and inconsistent training of Chicago’s Security Officers could undermine the ability of our city to retain qualified security officers and may put Chicago at risk of failing to meet the security challenges facing today’s global cities. The full report, First Defense: Chicago Security at a Crossroads, is available at http://www.seiu1.org/standforsecurity/Default.aspx.

In their contract talks, security officers are fighting to address many of the problems plaguing the Chicago’s security industry that are outlined in the report. The security officers’ union contract talks begin Wednesday and their contract expires April 27.

Chicago’ private security officers who patrol and protect high-rise commercial office buildings are critical to maintaining the safety of everyone who works, lives or visits downtown Chicago.  Security officers are the first responders to incidents from medical emergencies to natural disasters and terrorist threats at critical buildings within the city’s infrastructure.  On the scene at all times in most buildings, security officers prevent incidents from developing into crimes or emergencies.
   
While security officers carry substantial responsibility, officers aren’t always valued on a par with that responsibility.  Wages for security officers start at only $9.15 an hour—below the poverty line for a family of four—and most officers work extra shifts just to make ends meet.   The burden of training often falls on the officers themselves to complete on their free time.

Security officers in cities across the country have been speaking out about the lack of investment in a workforce entrusted daily with the protection of multi-million dollar properties and the safety of the public.  In Los Angeles, 4,000 security officers recently won living wages and health insurance through their first union contract, and in San Francisco security officers won similar improvements after the first ever strike of security officers.  Security officers in Minnesota recently authorized an open ended strike.

“Security officers are not miracle workers,” said Mary Ann Harris, a security officer at 401 N. Michigan, who has 13 years of experience.  “If there’s a fire, there’s no magic button we can press.  We have to be trained and we have to have confidence that we know what to do, because otherwise someone could lose their life.”