SAN FRANCISCO – As security officers prepare for another possible strike, Bay Area clergy and community leaders are calling on corporate real estate giants like Shorenstein Properties, Hines, Morgan Stanley, The Swig Company, and others to end the separate and unequal treatment of security officers now. Security officers, most of whom are African American, are the only group of contract service workers in commercial real estate properties that do not receive wages you can raise a family on and full family healthcare. Shorenstein Properties, Hines, Morgan Stanley, The Swig Company and others are among the Bay Area's largest owners of commercial real estate where security officers have
been working with an expired contract since June.
Private security officers are the lowest paid of all the contracted service workers and are the only group to be denied the dignity of quality, affordable health care for themselves and their families. Currently, security officers that work full time still earn wages so low that many qualify for food stamps and other public assistance. Many security officers simply cannot afford healthcare for themselves or their families and must rely on emergency rooms and public health
clinics.
"We believe this crisis can only be resolved when the building owners break from past racist practices and agree to provide security officers with the same decency, respect, and family healthcare that other contract service workers receive," said Rev. J. Edgar Boyd, Senior Pastor Bethel AME Church of San Francisco and a member of the Stand for Security Coalition.
At the end of the first day of the security officers' first-ever strike in September, Mayor Newsom called on building owners to "assert a greater role in fostering a resolution between security guards and security guard companies." Security officers decided to "end for now" September's three-day unfair labor practice strike in a show of good faith as contract negotiations resumed. Negotiations recently broke down as security contractors that service the majority of commercial real estate in the Bay Area failed time and time again to propose
acceptable wage increases and quality, affordable healthcare plans.
Now, clergy and community leaders will lead a procession from Old St. Mary's Church to Shorenstein Properties headquarters to denounce the real estate industry's perpetuation of separate and unequal treatment of security officers, and hand-deliver a letter to Shorenstein Properties that includes a call to stop the racist practices.
To see the full letter from the Stand for Security Coalition to the
building owners visit www.StopTheDoubleStandards.org
WHAT: Clergy to Denounce Building Owners' Treatment of Security
WHEN: Procession to begin at Noon, Friday November 16, 2007
Procession expected to arrive at Shorenstein Properties at 12:30 PM
WHERE Procession to begin from Old. St. Mary's Church 660, California St, SF
Procession to end at Shorenstein Properties 555 California St., SF
VISUAL: Clergy leading procession of security officers and their
supporters carrying an empty cornucopia to illustrate security officers are heading into
the holiday season without the wages and healthcare they need to
support themselves and their families.