Security guards walk off the job for one day

Bruce Bisping, Star Tribune

Several hundred members of SEIU Local 26 Twin Cities Security Officers pounded on pots, pans, drums and anything else that would make noise as they picketed in front of the U.S. Bankcorp Center in downtown Minneapolis.

Workers are seeking a contract with affordable health care.

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: February 26, 2008 - 12:18 AM

Hundreds of security guards from three of the largest firms in the Twin Cities staged a one-day strike Monday replete with public rallies to call attention to their quest to obtain a contract that includes affordable health care.

Not all security guards who work for ABM, American and Securitas walked off the job at 6 a.m. Monday, but those at 16 of the properties in the Twin Cities where the firms provide security services did form picket lines outside places such as Ameriprise Financial, the U.S. Bank Building and Block E in downtown Minneapolis.

All of the striking guards will return to work today, said David Zaffrann, a spokesman for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 26, which represents the guards.

"We decided to make this a one-day strike that has a clear and public impact," Zaffrann said. "The message is that security officers cannot wait any more."

The guards called for the one-day strike after negotiations on Saturday broke off without addressing the security guards' request for affordable health care for themselves and their families. Security guards have been without a contract since the beginning of the year and are seeking improvements in wages and training standards.

As part of their walkout, guards staged a public rally outside the U.S. Bank Building at Nicollet Mall and 8th Street. Local SEIU President Javier Morillo-Alicea and Al Franken, a DFL candidate for the U.S. Senate, spoke.

"A lot of people looked at us and saw we are serious," said striking security guard Bobbie Edmonds, 24, of Brooklyn Park, at the rally. "We should get back to the bargaining table and have affordable health care. I am confident that we are going to work something out."

The average security guard is paid $11.76 per hour and most do not have health insurance, union officials said.

Hundreds of security officers voted Feb. 9 to authorize their bargaining committee to call a strike. The two sides had met twice without coming to an agreement. The two sides are not scheduled to negotiate again until March 6.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768

Recent Local + Metro stories

Housing bite getting bigger - February 26, 2008

Housing bite getting bigger - One in nine Minnesota homeowners now pay more than half of their income for housing, up from one in 18 just five years ago. This "housing burden'' is among the fastest-growing groups in the national housing crisis. More