Meredith Aska McBride | A labor crisis ignored

Many of those who have followed the AlliedBarton guard unionization controversy have been subtly manipulated into believing that workers should only organize in response to labor-rights violations.

But unionization "is not only for money, benefits, power ... It's for respect and dignity. If you don't have that respect and dignity, you don't have nothin'," said a guard, who spoke on condition of anonymity (as did all the guards I interviewed).

Penn and AlliedBarton haven't treated guards with the respect and dignity they deserve. Guards have the right to a union not only to ensure appropriate benefits and working conditions, but to participate in important decisions about their quality of life.

The process began in August 2005, when five guards petitioned President Gutmann for Penn's support and were suspended by AlliedBarton. Months later, two guards were reinstated after Gutmann, under pressure, issued a statement. Some concessions have been made, but problems persist.

AlliedBarton, throughout this process, has continually disrespected guards and misinformed the Penn community.

In 2005, Temple guards presented a similar petition to Temple's president within weeks of the Penn petition; these guards were not suspended. Larry Rubin, AlliedBarton's spokesman, said of the incident that he didn't "think that there was a presentation of that kind" and that he had "no knowledge of any of our employees at Temple doing that," even though he was quoted in the DP article covering the event.

When asked why Penn guards were suspended, Rubin said the action happened on company time. He has previously been quoted in the DP saying that they were suspended because it is against company policy to contact clients directly. Guards involved said they approached Gutmann's office off of company time and out of uniform.

In April 2006, the company resolved charges of a violation of the National Labor Relations Act for its suspension of five guards. Presenting a petition in support of unionization is classified as "protected concerted activity" and is fully legal.

Little has been done to address the guards' abysmal benefits and working conditions. After almost two years of fighting, guards now begin employment with one sick day per year and gain one more day annually per year of service, nowhere near enough. It was not until last semester that guards got a new roll-call facility. Health insurance is still prohibitively expensive. It shouldn't be so hard nor take so long to secure basic rights.

Guards' wages remain low. Though Penn's guards make $10.15 an hour on average, above the market wage, the federal Service Contract Act determines that a living wage for unarmed security guards in Philadelphia is $13.48 hourly, plus $3.16 per hour in benefits. That AlliedBarton can pay such low wages and looks comparatively generous shows the poor treatment of all security guards, not market logic.

AlliedBarton most fundamentally disrespects its employees by preventing a union. Though Rubin says "AlliedBarton's position has always been that they support unions," their actions are contradictory. The suspension incident is the most flagrant example of this. Guards also say that supervisors target union activists for minor infractions.

Rubin insisted the number of guards pushing for unionization is "relatively low," but a union organizer says that roughly 250 of about 550 Penn guards signed union cards "without too much [organizing] effort." Guards tell me that more would sign, but are afraid of repercussions.

How is Penn helping? Gutmann asked that suspended guards be reinstated - but legally this had to happen anyway. The University investigated guards' working conditions, but the only results were the feeble sick-day policy and the roll-call facility. Though Penn maintains that it supports "workers' rights," it refuses to endorse a union.

I find it interesting that Ron Perelman - of Perelman Quad and the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine - is the chairman and CEO of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, a major shareholder of AlliedBarton. Perelman is also a Penn Trustee. The administration isn't going to bite the hand that feeds it, even if that hand slaps guards in the face daily.

Material benefits won't come without a union, but this is about respect. Even if AlliedBarton disagrees with guards' demands, it must recognize their right to make these demands. Rubin said that AlliedBarton tries "to provide as many areas as we can for interaction between the company and its employees." I can't think of a better area for interaction than a strong union.

Meredith Aska McBride is a College sophomore from Wauwatosa, Wisc. Her e-mail is mcbride@dailypennsylvanian.com. Radical Chic appears on Wednesdays.

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