32BJ of SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION
Jan. 29, 2026
Contacts:
Hannah Bottum
347-417-3254
Simon Davis-Cohen
917-374-1358
New York City Enacts First Private Sector Wage Law Since 1964
The Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act is the first law enacted by New York City since 1964 to set a minimum wage standard for private sector employees.
Act will address a turnover crisis in a predominantly Black and Latino security workforce of 81,900 by setting industry standards for wages, benefits, paid vacation and holidays
Act honors a hero’s legacy
Photos/videos (credit 32BJ SEIU): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qbazChO-x2DoMJibCDxmGfEqNQNWa_I_?usp=sharing
New York, NY – On Thursday, January 29, by a final vote of 46-5, New York City enacted the Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act (Intro. 1391), the city’s first law since 1964 to set a minimum wage standard for private sector employees not employed through a city contract.
The Act will guarantee a minimum wage, paid vacation and holidays, and supplemental benefits for all 60,000 New York City private sector security officers. The Act’s compensation package will be at least as much as the compensation package of security officers employed on New York City public building service contracts and will help address a 77% annual industry turnover rate that today jeopardizes public safety. This is an economic security issue that New York City has the authority to take action on.
32BJ SEIU President Manny Pastreich: “This law will change the lives of tens of thousands of low wage security officers who for too long have been overlooked and underappreciated. Aland Etienne made the ultimate sacrifice, putting his life on the line to protect lives during a mass shooting. Today, our city has honored Aland and all security officers – our unsung heroes – who show up every day to protect us. No New York City security officer should go to sleep wondering how they’ll make rent, pay medical bills, or feed their families. And at a moment when the federal government has taken away health benefits and support for working and poor people to fund the biggest tax break for the rich in history, this legislation will be life changing for tens of thousands of hard working New Yorkers. The Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act is what the moment calls for.”
Speaker Julie Menin: “Active shooter incidents are on the rise, making the work of security guards both more dangerous and more essential than ever. We have a responsibility to honor the memory of Aland Etienne by ensuring that security guards have the fair pay, benefits, and time off they deserve. I was proud to cast a vote in favor of the bill last December, and I will be proud to vote alongside my Council colleagues to override the veto and ensure the bill goes into effect. Protecting security guards who put their lives on the line is a moral imperative, and this is the least we can do to deliver the standards and equity they’ve earned.”
Commissioner Sam Levine, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection: “Every day, in every corner of the city, security officers are risking their lives to keep the people of our city safe. Officer Etienne paid the ultimate price for his service. But despite the critical role that security officers play, for too long you have been underpaid and underappreciated – earning less than half the city’s average income, many have no health insurance, some security officers are even living in poverty. This is unacceptable, it’s exploitation, and it ends today. Together with 32BJ and leaders like Crystal Hudson and former Speaker Adams, you banded together and demanded change and won a massive victory in the City Council last year. When the last Mayor tried to block that victory, you didn’t give up. Now, under Speaker Menin, this Council is sending a clear message that the days of exploiting the working people of this city are over. Under Zohran Mamdani, we have a City Hall that stands with our workers, and not against them. I want all security officers to hear me on this: if you are not getting the wages you deserve, the benefits you deserve, the protections you deserve under this law, we want to hear about it. We will be fearless in enforcing this law on behalf of all of you, and making sure that this law and the legacy of Aland lives up to its promise. Today, we celebrate, and tomorrow we keep fighting – fighting together until every worker in this city earns a living wage, dignity on the job, and security for their families.”
Rachelle Paoli, Aland Etienne’s partner: “Aland’s job was to protect the public. As a father, as my man, as a brother, as a son, and as a mentor he did whatever he could to uplift others. We honor Aland’s legacy today by supporting his colleagues across the City of New York. We come from a country, Haiti, where we say, ‘l’unité fait la force, unity is strength.’ Coming together to uplift security officers makes us all safer. This is the perfect way of honoring a hero’s legacy.”
Smith Etienne, Aland Etienne’s brother: “My brother Aland was my hero. My brother was someone who protected and uplifted others. He protected the public on the job. As a father, partner, brother, son and mentor he did whatever he could to uplift not just his family and friends, but strangers and colleagues alike. If he were with us today, he’d be fighting for this legislation. This Act honors his legacy by uplifting and protecting his colleagues across the city. Aland is a New York hero. And although this legislation is named after my brother. I want to also dedicate this rally to my brother’s children.”
Security Officer Arnoul Joseph: “I work as a security officer at Walgreens in Brooklyn. I put a strong face on every day for our city. But what people don’t see is our struggle. As security officers, we are struggling to provide for ourselves and families. That is why we need the Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act. I am a single father. I lost my wife during COVID. I work hard to provide for my daughter. She is 13. I moved to New York from Haiti because I wanted to build a better life for myself. Now, I want to build a better life for my daughter. I want to provide her with all of the things she needs. I want to save money so that she can have a brighter future. That is what the American Dream means to me. The same dream Aland was fighting for. This Act will change lives.”
Security Officer Allan Kandelowicz: “I am proud to be a security officer. In my 48 years on the job, I have responded to all kinds of crises. I bring experience and dedication. But I am struggling. I commute more than two hours to work every day. I work multiple jobs and my paycheck isn’t predictable. I have my fair share of health challenges. The Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act means a reliable paycheck, better benefits, and paid time off. It means that I can finally take a moment to breathe.”
Karla Walter, American Worker Project, American Progress: “All too often, New York City’s front-line private security officers are paid poverty wages and receive insufficient benefits, diminishing economic stability for working families and undermining public safety as employers struggle to retain a well-qualified workforce. By adopting a sectoral compensation standard for private security officers, the city is helping to make work pay, guarantee a stable, experienced workforce, and reestablish the city as a national leader in promoting decent work.”
Cassandra Gomez, senior staff attorney, National Employment Law Project: “We applaud the council’s override of the previous administration’s ill-considered veto of this vital legislation. New York City has been a national leader in striving to meet the needs of workers in our city by enacting tailored job standards and workplace protections. This bill is an important victory toward bringing security guards closer to a living wage and addressing our city’s affordability crisis.”
THE LEGISLATION
The Act guarantees minimum standards for the approximately 60,000 private security officers who are not currently covered by the prevailing wage or comparable standards. It ensures that all private security officers receive at least the same compensation package as private security officers employed on city contracts – a standard that is set annually by the city.
Over the next three years, security officers will see the direct impact of this legislation:
- Year 1: Hourly Wage: First, the minimum wage standard will go into effect.
- Year 2: Paid Time Off: Next, officers will get paid holidays and vacations.
- Year 3: Benefits Supplement – Finally, officers will see a benefits supplement. This means employers have to contribute to benefits such as health care, which can be provided in the form of benefits, cash, or a combination of the two.
Right now, it is legal to pay NYC security officers the $17/hour minimum wage, with no benefits, no paid vacation, and no paid holidays.
If Aland’s Act were fully implemented today, the minimum take-home package for a new hire would be worth $26.49/hour – plus paid vacation and 8 paid holidays.
The minimum take-home package for an officer with two years of experience and required training would be worth $29.67/hour, two weeks paid vacation, and 8 paid holidays.
These figures include the benefits supplement, which is currently $8.47/hour. Officers will see a benefits supplement – which means that employers will have to contribute to benefits such as health care, which can be provided in the form of benefits, cash or a combination of the two. The current supplement amount is worth $8.47/hour.
BACKGROUND
State law is a “floor” which localities can build upon. For instance, New York courts have ruled municipalities can strengthen state water quality laws. New York City has the authority to pass local wage legislation and has asserted this authority now to provide minimum pay standards for security officers.
The state minimum wage – which provides no benefits, paid vacation or paid holidays – is simply insufficient to attract and retain a workforce with the responsibilities and risks of security officers. The Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act fills this gap by guaranteeing city-wide standards for the approximately 60,000 private security officers not currently covered by a prevailing wage or comparable wage mandate by directing security officer employers to provide their security officer employees with minimum wage, paid vacation time, and supplemental benefits that meet or exceed required compensation for private sector security guards engaged on New York City public building service contracts in excess of $1,500.
Note on 1964 date: Since 1964, the city has set various prevailing wages on city-owned or -contracted projects. That’s not the same as a private sector wage standard. Additionally, the city has set minimum compensation standards in the gig economy. However, gig workers are “independent contractors” and not “employees,” therefore the Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act is the city’s first law to set a minimum compensation for private sector employees since 1964.
The city’s last minimum wage law was passed in 1964. Then, a conservative, yet divided, New York Court of Appeals overturned the $1.50/hr minimum wage law in a 4-3 decision. Dissenting opinions of the era objected to the court’s conservative reading of state law, pointing out that a local minimum wage that builds upon the state’s minimum wage “neither prohibits what the State statute affirmatively permits nor permits what it prohibits.”
Aland Etienne: 32BJ security officer Aland Etienne put his life on the line to protect lives at 345 Park Avenue during the July 2025 Midtown mass shooting.
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With more than 185,000 members in 12 states and D.C., 32BJ SEIU is the largest property service workers union in the country. 32BJ SEIU represents more than 85,000 building service workers in New York, including 20,000 security officers.