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° Once fired by his employer, the I.W.A. got Adam Halliday’s job back and a certification in place at Vancouver’s

Library Square.

Union fights tough battle to unionize
security guards in Lower Mainland

They are among the most under-
represented workers in Canada —
security guards. You'll see them out
there often working by themselves.
They most likely get paid.a little
more than minimum wage and get
few, if any, benefits.

For the past year and a half the
I.W.A. has been out organizing work-
ers in this sector in the Vancouver
and Lower Mainland area. To date
it has certified workers at three
sites of the province’s largest com-
pany, Securiguard Services Ltd.,
after fighting several battles at the
Labour Relations Board of B.C.

In February of 2000 the union
made application to represent about
20 a aebare at the Library Square

complex in downtown Vancouver,
where the Vancouver Public Library
and various government buildings
are located.

It took about 4 months of legal
battles atthe Board to get a certifi-
cation in place. As of press time the

I.W.A. is seeking a first collective
agreement with the company.

Although Securigard has hun-
dreds of workers spread out at vari-
ous sites, the LRB ruled the union
can organize the workers on a site-
by-site basis and vary them into a
single certification.

Since then, the union organized
two more Securigard sites; the
Fraser-Surrey docks and Pacific
Coast Terminals in Port Moody.

With all of the delays at the Labour
Board and the inherent difficulties
of organizing workers at various job
sites, the campaign has been a chal-
lenging one for the I.W.A.

The I.W.A. lost.a case, after the
company took it to the Board,
restricting the union to talking to
workers on public property before or
after work or on their breaks, but
not while they are on the job.

During the campaigns the I.W.A.
Canada fought successfully to get
jobs back for 4 union supporters

Who's |
watching out
for security

WWW:lWe.Ga

that were fired.

Scott Lunny, Director of Policy
and Information Services, says
delays at the board and waiting for
applications to come through has
affected the campaign’s momentum
and that, even though the union is
winning its legal battles for the
most part, the obstacles to overcome
are large.

But so is the potential. Securi-
gard and its competitors like Con-
cord, Intercon and Pallidan are
largely non-union and have thou-
sands of employees between them.

National organizer Ryan Krell,
who has been working with others
on the campaign, says the workers
typically have lousy wages. Most
get paid in the $8.50 an hour range.

ome are permanent and full-time
but most are part-time and the com-
panies tend to shift them from site
to site, sometimes with little warn-
ing.

The employers use a great deal of

Are you paid fairly?
Do you feel safe at work?
What about overtime pay
- and benefits?

discretion to move people around.
This can be very inconvenient for
the workers who have to provide
their own transportation to and
from work.

“Unlike a traditional workplace
such as a manufacturing industry,
when you know when people or going
into and coming out of work, you
have to try to find the workers dur-
ing the 90 day sign-up period,” says
Krell. “There is a high turnover rate
since there are low wages and there
is no real thought given to senior-
ity.”

Safety is also an important issue.
Sometimes they don’t have a cell or
radio phone and have to run toa
public phone when a dangerous sit-
uation arises or they need to make
a report. They are not allowed to
pack any kind of weapon for self-
defense and are not permitted to
use handcuffs or other such devices,
although they are required to
restrain suspects.

Twenty-two year old Adam Halli-
day, who has worked as a security

uard for the past three years at
Fapiaey Square, says “our job is not
to tackle the suspect. Our job is to
follow him so the police can get to
him.”

“The best defense is to just take a
step back,” he adds. “We're not paid
enough (to take risks).”

But sometimes, security guards
are put in a position where they just
can’t observe or take notes — they
have to apprehend somebody if the
police take too long to appear.

Brother Halliday says part-time
workers often get dispatched toa
site without any idea of what the
conditions are like rehand.

He says workers can be shunted
around with little notice, no reliable
schedule, and may not be told how
to prepare for the site or weather
conditions beforehand.

“Communication is definitely not
clear — for sure it’s not what it could
be,” he commented in an interview
with the Lumberworker.

Guards have to go through a two
week blanket training course, usu-
ally offered by private company.
Sometimes the security company
will hire a private company to train
workers and may offer minimal
training on the job.

Although they are certified
through accredited courses under

rovincial legislation, that same

aw gives ownership of the guard’s
license to the company.

Companies like Securigard hold
all the cards, and can prevent their
employees from going to work for
other security companies to supple-
ment their meager wages.

“Essentially they (the company)
choose whether or not you aaa and
what you're paid...” says Halliday.

“The security guard business is
based on a cut-throat bidding

continued on page twenty

Security guards need

a voice at work. You need

a union and the |.W.A. is for you!
Call today. It’s confidential.

310-JOIN

e Ads running in local newspapers have drawn many calls from non-union security guards employed by several companies.

8/LUMBERWORKER/April, 2001