Remember this
post about an NLRB election for security guards in Philadelphia? The
election, which took place Wednesday, pitted a small independent union against
SEIU in an effort to unionize guards employed by AlliedBarton, a giant U.S. security company owned by billionaire Ron Perelman.
Back in 2007, SEIU’s Andy
Stern cut a secret deal with AlliedBarton that caused SEIU to pull the
plug on its effort to unionize the Philadelphia guards, “leaving openly
pro-union workers to face management’s wrath,” according to this article.
When the workers recently announced they planned to join the
newly created Philadelphia Security
Officers Union (PSOU), AlliedBarton teamed up with SEIU to undermine the
effort and tried to force the workers to join SEIU. AlliedBarton announced that the
guards could join SEIU without an election, and then gave lists of the guards’ home
addresses to SEIU so its purple-shirted organizers could bang on their doors and
pressure them to sign up with SEIU.
Fortunately, the guards resisted AlliedBarton’s joint campaign with its company union, SEIU. And on Wednesday, the guards voted
72-2 to join PSOU in an NLRB election!
The election may be small, but it’s making waves across the
country. Why? Because it shines a spotlight on SEIU’s backroom deals with bosses
that sell out workers. And it shows the power that workers have to take control
of their unions.
Tasty recommends this article in Labor Notes about yesterday's election: “Philly
Security Guards Choose Independent Union, Spurning SEIU.” Here are some
excerpts:
The [guards] filed for an election in March—and were immediately hit with a blitz of purple-clad SEIU door knockers...SEIU organizers quickly hit the doors, and six PSOU organizing committee members report that their pitch included a promise of neutrality from AlliedBarton.“Neutrality was not an offer that was extended to PSOU,” said Penn officer Terrell Rivers. “I wonder why. Is it because SEIU and our bosses at AlliedBarton are friends?”SEIU organizers told workers a bigger union could win better contracts. But PSOU supporters were adamant that a union that cuts deals without inviting rank and filers into the conversation was not a union they want.“They negotiated on my behalf with my boss,” said Colin Koch. “Whatever deal was cut did not include our voice. If this is the start of our relationship with the SEIU, then what can we expect in the future?”
