Published: July 9, 2010

Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ’s campaign to raise wages for City University of New York building security personnel is picking up steam, with student supporters even advocating civil disobedience against the administration.

During a rally June 29 at Baruch College in Manhattan, Local 32BJ members and CUNY students demanded that the administration raise the wage standards for its 300 security officers, who are paid $9.10 per hour and, depending on which company they work for, often do not have comprehensive medical plans or paid sick days. If one works 40 hours per week, this wage comes out to just short of $19,000 a year.

Put Onus on CUNY Chancellor

While the prevailing wage for contracted security officers at city-owned buildings is more than $13 per hour, according to Local 32BJ, CUNY’s wages are set by the state. The union is also lobbying the State Legislature and the State Comptroller to institute a raise, but it joined with the student activists in arguing that Chancellor Matthew Goldstein has the ability and the responsibility to raise the wage standards on his own.

“It’s our campuses, and we don’t want human rights violations on our campuses no matter who it’s for,” said Jenn Polish, a senior at Queens College. “They want to get the best security vendor for our schools, and our response is, ‘Really? The best one is one where the officers come in hungry, the officers come in on no sleep because they have two or three other jobs, the officers can’t support themselves let alone their families?’ They’re hardly going to be in the proper condition to protect campuses most efficiently, so the best way to get the best security is to provide proper health benefits and proper paid sick days.”

CUNY student activists met with Vice Chancellor for Labor Relations Pamela Silverblatt and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Peter Jordan before the rally, asking them to implement a new prevailing wage standard for security contracts. Ms. Polish said that they deferred to the state.

‘Said They’re Not Responsible’

“They essentially told us that CUNY administration is not responsible for any of this,” she said. “Of course they’re responsible. It’s CUNY’s money.”

A CUNY spokesman said all concerns about officer pay “should be directed to the management of those firms.”

Louis Medina, an AlliedBarton security officer at City College, said he and his daughter recently moved in with his mother in order to save money, but added that he was still struggling financially.

“I’m here not to seek sympathy, but here speaking for my co-workers that we are tired of low wages, tired of lousy health benefits,” he told the protesters. “We endure, though, through our problems and still give our best.”

At the rally last week, the studentlabor coalition signaled that it could amp up its message with more militant action, as students led a teach-in on civil disobedience, which including training on ‘going limp’ and linking arms, for possible use against Chancellor Goldstein’s office.

“Students shouldn’t have to work this hard to reach our Chancellor,” Ms. Polish said.