Apple, Google and other tech giants in the Silicon Valley are booming. Those companies are filled with brilliant people, many getting rich from the fruits of their labor. And they deserve it. Engineers and designers and other professionals who bring us the devices that make so many lives easier and more productive, work hard at what they do.
But there is another segment of that high tech worker population that’s missing out. The security officers who make sure the employees at the other end of the spectrum are safe and secure and that their work product is protected, are getting a raw deal. Those workers, along with supporters of rebuilding the middle class, will demonstrate outside Apple World Headquarters today. They want to educate the employees blissfully making their way to work on luxury buses, enjoying workout rooms and restaurants on the company campus, and $3000 apartment rentals in San Francisco. Do those workers know the security guards they pass everyday on the Apple and Google and other high tech campues are struggling to feed their families, pay low income level rents, and have no health insurance?
Apple and Google are two companies in the Valley who use an irresponsible security contractor, Security Industry Specialists (SIS). The irresponsible part of that description speaks to SIS, Inc.’s policies that deliberately cheat working families out of a better way of life; intimidating officers who want to organize a union, denying employees enough working hours to qualify for healthcare benefits., and the list goes on.
Fired Security officer Walter Redding has 1 daughter and a child on the way
Security officer Walter Redding, who up until recently protected people and property at Google’s YouTube facility, believes he was mistreated by SIS.
“I feel I was unfairly fired during one of the most critical moments of my life – just as my girlfriend and I were expecting our second child,” said Walter. But because he had no union representation, Walter had no recourse to appeal his unjust firing. “I thought I was doing great…but I got screwed,” he told the San Francisco Bay Guardian.
All workers who contribute to growing and profitable tech companies should benefit from the industry’s success. That’s why Silicon Valley security officers like Walter are joining together to regain real prosperity and secure good jobs that can support working families.
Show your support for brave security officers who are speaking out by attending an Apple Store action in your area! Read more about the upcoming actions here or here.
Jane Martin is a union organizer with SEIU-USWW.
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