Brown Walks for Better Guard Wages

Last week, D.C. Council member Kwame Brown "donned gray slacks, a blue shirt and a navy blazer and walked in the shoes of a security guard - 'black with rubber soles,' Brown noted -- to bring attention to the low wages received by the workers," reported Nikita Stewart and David Nakamura in the November 22 Washington Post. The guards are members of SEIU Local 32BJ. "The council is considering a bill that would set a minimum salary for security officers employed at private commercial office buildings at $11.51 an hour, plus $3.16 for benefits," the report continued, "There is no set standard, and the wages vary." "Brown (D-At Large) worked alongside Denise Butler, a 38-year-old single mother of three from Anacostia, who earns $10 an hour as a guard at Lafayette Center on 21st Street NW," according to the Post report. Click here to hear WAMU's interview with Denise Butler.