Union pushes Apple for better treatment of campus security guards
An effort to unionize security guards across Silicon Valley has set its sights on Apple, pushing the tech trendsetter to stand up for contract laborers in hopes of catalyzing interest from other companies in the area.
In its fight to unionize Silicon Valley contract workers, a regional division of Service Employees International Union called United Service Workers West is asking Apple to support an initiative seeking better treatment of security guards, reports the San Jose Mercury News.
Apple's campus is currently staffed by a security guard force supplied by contractor Security Industry Specialists, which supposedly treats their employees poorly, according to the SEIU-USWW. Chief among the union's concerns is pay, as these workers have to deal with quickly rising cost of living in and around San Francisco.
"Apple can be the leader," said Samuel Kehinde, vice president of United Service Workers West. "They can decide how life should be for this class of workers in the valley."
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson lent his voice to the movement in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook last month, asking the company to take a closer look at SIS operations. Jackson asked for a meeting with Cook to discuss the issue, but has yet to receive a reply, the report said.
"Part of the narrative of their firm is equitable and first-class leadership," Jackson said. "As they grow at such a rapid pace, they should have world-class working conditions for their workers from the bottom up."
For its part, SIS CFO Tom Seltz last year claimed Silicon Valley security guards contracted by his company made an average of $19.77 per hour, not including benefits. While higher than the state average, advocates and unions argue SIS salaries are not enough to account for ballooning living expenses seen in the Bay Area.
The push for unionization is linked to a wider issue concerning a supposed gentrification of the Bay Area, where longtime residents are being displaced by an influx of affluent tech industry workers.
Employees holding skill positions at tech companies like Apple are widely considered to garner lopsided salaries compared to contract workers who perform menial duties, such as security guards. Economic discord has manifested in outrage famously directed at tech company shuttle buses that ferry passengers from their homes in San Francisco to jobs outside the city. The shuttles, which make stops at city bus stops, have become a symbol for activists' struggle for normalization.
In its fight to unionize Silicon Valley contract workers, a regional division of Service Employees International Union called United Service Workers West is asking Apple to support an initiative seeking better treatment of security guards, reports the San Jose Mercury News.
Apple's campus is currently staffed by a security guard force supplied by contractor Security Industry Specialists, which supposedly treats their employees poorly, according to the SEIU-USWW. Chief among the union's concerns is pay, as these workers have to deal with quickly rising cost of living in and around San Francisco.
"Apple can be the leader," said Samuel Kehinde, vice president of United Service Workers West. "They can decide how life should be for this class of workers in the valley."
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson lent his voice to the movement in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook last month, asking the company to take a closer look at SIS operations. Jackson asked for a meeting with Cook to discuss the issue, but has yet to receive a reply, the report said.
"Part of the narrative of their firm is equitable and first-class leadership," Jackson said. "As they grow at such a rapid pace, they should have world-class working conditions for their workers from the bottom up."
For its part, SIS CFO Tom Seltz last year claimed Silicon Valley security guards contracted by his company made an average of $19.77 per hour, not including benefits. While higher than the state average, advocates and unions argue SIS salaries are not enough to account for ballooning living expenses seen in the Bay Area.
The push for unionization is linked to a wider issue concerning a supposed gentrification of the Bay Area, where longtime residents are being displaced by an influx of affluent tech industry workers.
Employees holding skill positions at tech companies like Apple are widely considered to garner lopsided salaries compared to contract workers who perform menial duties, such as security guards. Economic discord has manifested in outrage famously directed at tech company shuttle buses that ferry passengers from their homes in San Francisco to jobs outside the city. The shuttles, which make stops at city bus stops, have become a symbol for activists' struggle for normalization.
Comments
God damn commies /s
No "/s".
If Apple’s mistreating them, they’re mistreating them. If they’re not, these guys need to be punished. I tend to believe that Apple isn’t.
Push hard enough and Apple will switch to automated security.
[B]OH HELL NO!!![/B]
We've already seen how Apple treats them, they make them learn crazy secret handshakes and film videos for our amusement.
http://youtu.be/Dzb4thRJTp8
It didn't say that Apple's mistreating them, but the company that they work which is contracted by Apple is.
Apple should have nothing to do with those thugs. That would be a huge disgrace.
SEIU has committed multiple acts of violence and thuggery in the past. This is all well documented and there are many videos available showing SEIU members committing crimes and acts of physical violence.
Apple should tell them to take a hike. SEIU uses violence and intimidation to try and get their way.
If anything, there should be armed guards to hold SEIU at bay.
Apple would be better off hiring the Mafia instead of SEIU. The Mafia is more professional and discreet.
Dear Mr. Cook,
Stay as far away from unionism as possible. Collective bargaining may have been effective in the past but the unions of today are corrupt, entangled with organized crime, and politically beholding to the far left.
But you already know that.
Yes, but I don't think you can use contributions to the Mafia as a tax deduction. /s
Wait, are you saying that the fat cats would universally lose sympathy for the little guy and, what, cut their benefits or something? I’m not sure what you mean.
If they don't like it then they should have chosen becoming CEOs of Fortune 500 companies¡
Totally! Those scumbags are just too damn lazy to go to CEO school. If they had they could be treating others like shit instead. They just don't get it.
As examples, the following are representative wages and living costs in the San Francisco Bay Area:
Firefighter - $24 per hour
Automotive Mechanic - $26 per hour
Police Patrol Officer - $30 per hour
Retail Store Manager - $30 per hour
High School Teacher - $32 per hour
Network Administrator - $38 per hour
Registered Nurse - $39 per hour
Computer Programmer - $40 per hour
Project Manager - $46 per hour
These are average wages from Salary.com although the wages seem low to me.
This is where I stopped reading and realized this was nonsense!!!
For the benefit of those outside of the San Francisco Bay Area, $19.77 per hour isn't as much as one might think.
As examples, the following are representative wages and living costs in the San Francisco Bay Area:
Firefighter - $24 per hour
Automotive Mechanic - $26 per hour
Police Patrol Officer - $30 per hour
Retail Store Manager - $30 per hour
High School Teacher - $32 per hour
Network Administrator - $38 per hour
Registered Nurse - $39 per hour
Computer Programmer - $40 per hour
Project Manager - $46 per hour
These are average wages from Salary.com although the wages seem low to me.
PM only makes $46/hr? They need to come down to San Diego.
$24 for a firefighter? Seriously? Talk about underpaid!!
For the benefit of those outside of the San Francisco Bay Area, $19.77 per hour isn't as much as one might think.
As examples, the following are representative wages and living costs in the San Francisco Bay Area:
Firefighter - $24 per hour
Automotive Mechanic - $26 per hour
Police Patrol Officer - $30 per hour
Retail Store Manager - $30 per hour
High School Teacher - $32 per hour
Network Administrator - $38 per hour
Registered Nurse - $39 per hour
Computer Programmer - $40 per hour
Project Manager - $46 per hour
These are average wages from Salary.com although the wages seem low to me.
Each of those jobs require either extensive training or extensive education.