Security Officers in the Bay Area Launch 24-Hour ULP Strike Against Allied, Securitas, Other Security Companies. Los Angeles is Next. 

Early on Friday, September 18, security officers in downtown San Francisco, represented by SEIU-United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW), walked off the job to protest alleged bad faith bargaining, surveillance of officers, retaliatory discipline, making unilateral changes, illegally coercing, restraining, and interfering with officers’ right to strike, and other unfair practices on the job. With contract negotiations on going and because of officer reports of Allied committing unfair labor practices in Los Angeles, such as survelling officers and unilaterally changing working conditions that are resulting in officers being prevented from taking restroom breaks and having to pay for employer-mandated CPR certification, security officers in Los Angeles issued a 72-hour strike notice on Monday, September 21.

For months, approximately fourteen thousand security officers with SEIU-USWW in the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles have been negotiating a new union contract with Allied, Securitas, and other security companies. As the New York Times reported this past week, security officers in California and across the country are standing together to demand their employers improve wages and benefits to better reflect the vitally important and highly dangerous work officers do to keep communities safe. 

Why strike? To protest unfair labor practices committed by Allied Universal and other security contractors. 

While officers are fighting for a fair contract, a factsheet from UC-Berkeley Labor Center highlights some of the problems in the industry. 

• Officers are paid a median hourly wage of $20.09, substantially below the median wage of $28.16 for all workers in the state. 
• Just over half of security officers in the state have access to health insurance through their employer, a household member’s employer, or their union in spite of the fact that the security industry has one of the highest on-the-job fatality and injury rates in the United States. 
• Turnover among security officers across California was an incredibly high 91.6 percent in 2024. 

“Here in San Francisco, we have extremely profitable companies, big tech companies, that are doing well,” Sanjay Garla, SEIU-USWW vice president, said. “There’s a whole host of service workers that help contribute to that success.” … “Right now, our minimum rate in San Francisco in our contract is less than $2 over minimum wage,” Garla said. “That’s just unthinkable for me when you have to get licensed to do this job and stand in front of a building and put your life and limb at risk.”

A striking security guard who works in San Francisco said workers are not adequately compensated for protecting valuable properties. “We’re guarding multibillion buildings, and we’re getting, like, a small fraction of what we believe we deserve to get paid,” Max Garibay said.

Enough is enough. Security officers are standing up for what they deserve. 

Select press coverage of the event:

• La Opinión – “Guardias de seguridad en L.A. exigen mejores contratos”
• The San Francisco Standard – “Striking security guard workers walk off jobs in San Francisco”
• Fast Company – “Thousands of security workers for Big Tech companies are on strike in California”
• ABC7 News (KGO-TV) — “Thousands of Bay Area, SoCal security guards at major retailers and tech giants begin strike”
• KQED – “Bay Area Security Workers Guarding Big Tech Offices Strike”
• San Francisco Chronicle – “S.F. security guards strike at multiple major downtown skyscrapers”
• KRON4 – “Security guards for top SF tech companies poised to strike”