10-04-07, 9:17 am

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - 24-27SEPTEMBER07 - Security officers struck San Francisco buildings for three days, the first strike by guards in U.S. history. Their union, Service Employees Local 24/7, wants to pressure security companies and building owners into improving wages and conditions for guards, and signing a new union contract. They accuse employers of maintaining a double standard in which security officers, who are mostly African American, are paid less and receive fewer benefits than other workers in the same buildings. After three days, they returned to work in a gesture of good faith while negotiations continued. One company tried to prevent strikers from returning, but after delegations to building owners, a march, and the occupation of one building lobby, all strikers were back on the job.



--For more articles and images, see http://dbacon.igc.org/Unions/unions.htm

See also the photodocumentary on indigenous migration to the US, Communities Without Borders (Cornell University/ILR Press, 2006)

See also The Children of NAFTA, Labor Wars on the U.S./Mexico Border (University of California, 2004)