Workers March on Guardsmark

Chanting "Guardsmark! Unfair!" students and labor activists joined dozens of SEIU 32BJ members last Wednesday for a late-afternoon rally and march around the DC headquarters of Guardsmark, a national security contractor. Demanding that the company improve the lives of their workforce, the union noted that Guardsmark made $500 million in 2006 but continues to pay their full-time security officers poverty wages. Citing the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., workers said that much of his work for social justice remains unfulfilled. Muriel Bowser, the Metro Council endorsed candidate in the upcoming DC Council Ward 4 Special Election, also joined the rally. "I'm proud to be standing with SEIU" and "I will make sure workers get the respect they deserve," said Bowser. The march concluded with spirited shouts of "We'll be back!"
- story/photo by Andy Richards