800 Security guards vote on labor proposal

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.finance-commerce.com/article.cfm/2008/03/19/Security-guard-vote-on-labor-proposal-could-lead-to-strike-Union-leadership-unanimously-recommended-

by Adam Johnson Staff Writer


David Schiff, a security guard with Securitas, casts his vote as fellow Securitas officer John Graham and two union election judges look on. (Photo by Bill Klotz)


Security officers who work in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul voted Tuesday on a proposed new union contract that their employers have called their “last, best and final” offer.

About 800 security officers, represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 26, work for security contractors ABM Security Services, AlliedBarton Security Services, American Security, Viking Security and Securitas Security Services USA. Buildings that rely on SEIU workers include Block E, the IDS Center, Ameriprise Financial Center and the U.S. Bank Building.

The union’s bargaining committee unanimously recommended that members reject the offer prior to the vote, citing the high cost of health care insurance.

The results will be announced Wednesday.

If members vote down the proposal, union leaders could call a worker strike. The security officers already held a one-day strike on Feb. 25 that included rallies in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The union vote follows more than three months of negotiations.