After this story was filed, Allied Universal and SEIU 32BJ reached an agreement on a new contract for Temple University security. The newly ratified four-year contract secures wage increases, up to 29.41% for officers currently at the minimum rate, and $4/hr raises for those above the minimum, along with improved training and more PTO days.
A public safety concern looms over Philadelphia as over 3,000 Allied Universal security officers have filed a 10-day strike notice, preparing to walk off the job if a new contract is not immediately reached. The union, representing the guards who secure the city’s hospitals, universities, and high-rises, says the fight is fundamentally about survival and a livable wage.
The core issue driving the strike authorization vote is compensation. Union members say that Allied Universal, one of the world’s largest security contractors, is offering pay rates as low as $16.25 an hour. This low wage, they argue, forces essential employees into extreme work hours just to make ends meet.
For Officer Stephanie Gibson, who works at Temple University, the struggle means nearly non-stop work.
“I work almost 70 hours a week, sometimes 80, just to try to make ends meet. And that’s still not enough,” Gibson stated.”
That feeling is shared by guards like Daquan Garner, who works at Temple Hospital and feels the workers are being undervalued despite their critical role.
“We are tired of being told to be grateful for wages that don’t even let us survive. And we are tired of being treated like our safety, our health, and our future doesn’t matter,” Garner said.
The officers point to a stark contradiction between the value of the properties they protect and their own economic vulnerability. Beyond compensation, officers are also concerned about inadequate training standards for their high-risk work.
“We protect multimillion-dollar properties, but we can’t afford a single-bedroom apartment in the same city we guard,” Garner noted. “That’s not right, that’s not fair, and that’s not the Philadelphia we believe in.”
In a statement addressing the contract dispute, Allied Universal acknowledged the ongoing negotiations.
“Allied Universal has good working relationships with unions around the country, including SEIU, and we are engaged in good faith negotiations with the SEIU to renew the existing collective bargaining agreement in Philadelphia.”
The threat of a security gap at key locations across Philadelphia remains the biggest concern for the city. Temple Update will monitor the progress of those negotiations and bring you any new developments on the contract dispute.
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