Tenant Support Builds for Security Officers

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Thursday afternoon, the Economic Policy Institute hosted a brown-bag lunch on working conditions for service workers in their large H Street office building. More than a dozen tenants from throughout the building sat down with downtown security officers, SEIU local 32BJ organizers and DC Jobs with Justice staff to discuss the officers’ campaign and how tenants can help.  Tenants learned that many downtown security officers earn less than $10 an hour, get no paid sick days and have trouble affording healthcare.  Officers also have very little control over their schedules – one officer told tenants how he was forced to work a 27-hour shift on Christmas Day! This building is the latest to join the Building Benefits network, a project of DC Jobs with Justice, which has involved tenants from more than two-dozen office buildings in taking action to support the janitors, security officers and parking attendants in their buildings.  Working with DC JwJ, tenants have worn stickers, collected petitions supporting paid sick leave legislation, and written to their property managers to advocate for better working conditions in their buildings. For more info on the project, click here. To get your own building involved, contact Mackenzie Baris at 202-974-8224 or mbaris@dclaborarchives.org
-Report by Jack Mahoney & Sarah Heydemann/photo by Andy Richards