On February 16th officers from all three of the major Boston and Cambridge contractors came together to review what we have done so far and what are the next steps.  Officers from all three
companies have been participating with the signing of Union cards at a rapid pace. A review of the Unionization process clarified our need to reach super majorities of officers with cards in each of the three contractors before we submit the cards to a neutral third-party (an arbitrator) for review.

Sharing Our Viewpoint
At the meeting officers broke down into smaller groups diverse in company and location and talked about what personally moved them to want to form a Union. Officers spoke about the low wages, lack of raises, no sick days, and how many cannot afford the company-offered healthcare plan. Another shared theme was the lack of respect for the important work that we do.

Organizing Our Union
After sharing what motivated each of us to want the Union, we discussed how to structure our campaign. We decided that we would have one leadership body with the bargaining committee that acts as a subcommittee accountable to the larger group. This larger body, called the Contract Action Team (CAT), will be responsible for planning and organizing our community and political support and the general visibility of our campaign. It was decided that in order to be on the CAT an officer must collect 1) At least 10 signatures of officers from their worksite if assigned to a building of 20 or more officers or 2) At least 50% (signatures) of the officers from their worksite if assigned to a building that has less than 20 officers.

From this larger committee we would agree upon all the different types of jobs, work locations, shifts, family status, age, and any other demographic criteria that need to be represented on the bargaining committee. The bargaining committee would then be chosen out of the CAT with an eye to making sure we have a committee that reflects the entire workforce.

Next Steps
Officers left the meeting committed to sign up more officers and to continue to organize to build the Union. In addition, officers at the meeting reviewed a sample bargaining survey which will be finalized and ready for distribution in the coming weeks. The bargaining survey is our way of determining what our goals are and how to establish them by winning our first contract. The results of the survey will tell the CAT what the most important issues are that the officers face.

Another important aspect of our campaign is the support of our religious leaders, elected leaders and other community organizations. Security officers have begun the process of meeting with these important allies. If you are interested in setting up a meeting with your pastor, rabbi, imam or priest to talk about the campaign or would like to attend meetings with other community organizations and elected leaders to ask for their support, please contact Jeremy Shenk, Local 615 community organizer at (617) 878-7520. For any other questions, thoughts or suggestions please call our general Stand for Security number at (617) 878-7488.