“The security industry is successful because of workers like meyou and youme. Black and brown security officers make up the majority of private contract officers across the country, and it is those black and brown bodies that are put on the line to protect property and the people,” said Margaret Wyatt, who has worked as a security officer in Northern California for over 20 years. “We are demanding money, power, and respect because we deserve it.”
At the rally, security officers and union leaders also called on state lawmakers to pass the Stand for Security Act, a first-of-its-kind piece of legislation in California that would review pay and set enhanced training standards for private security officers to help rebuild community trust and ensure public safety.
“Security officers represent over 14,000 workers throughout the state of California who protect all of these buildings, who protect all of these major companies, and protect all of the people inside. But who is protecting security officers?” SEIU United Service Workers West President David Huerta asked the crowd gathered at the Mechanics Memorial in downtown San Francisco. “I say: respect the protectors. I say: protect the protectors. I say: pay the protectors.”
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NorCal security officers rally, launch contract campaign, fight for industry-wide improvements to pay, work standards
April 27, 2026
More than a hundred security officers from across Northern California descended on San Francisco during a rally on Thursday to formally launch their ‘Stand for Security’ campaign to win a union contract that secures pay raises and improved standards across the region’s security industry.
