Some Penn security guards are once again seeking to unionize after an effort to do so failed last year.
Guards' concerns include issues such as low pay, high turnover, lack of medical benefits, deficient training and inadequate working conditions, according to Christian Association Director Rev. Beverly Dale, who has met with University officials on behalf of the guards.
The employees of AlliedBarton Security, to whom Penn subcontracts its security service, held three separate meetings at the University Lutheran Church last week to garner support for their cause. They are looking to the local Service Employees International Union to help them unionize.
AlliedBarton spokesman Larry Rubin said that "there isn't a day that goes by that the benefits and wages of the company's employees are not discussed."
Dale and other religious leaders speaking on behalf of security guards have recently met with representatives from AlliedBarton and University Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli to discuss the concerns of the guards on campus.
While the group did not agree on any specific steps to take, Dale said she felt that the University "was taking these complaints seriously."
Security guard Mitchell McClain, who works at the Upper Quadrangle Gate between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and has been a proponent of unionization, said that more than 20 guards attended last week's meetings.
He added that this low turnout is most likely due to the fear many guards have of supporting unionization.
McClain was initially transferred off campus along with four other guards after they presented a petition of complaints to Penn President Amy Gutmann in August, but AlliedBarton allowed him to return to his original post in October.
The guards say they will continue to talk to their co-workers about the benefits of unionization.
McClain's goal is to get about 70 percent of the security force to sign membership cards.
Once that occurs, he added, the guards will most likely petition the National Labor Relations Board for union status.
Rubin said that if that happens, AlliedBarton will adhere to any decision the NLRB makes.
In spite of these efforts, a unionization will not go through until guards recruit enough support for their cause and petition the National Labor Relations Board.
Dale said she thought a union may or may not be the best way to address the guards' concerns.
She also said she asked the University to push AlliedBarton to address some of the guards' concerns, adding that AlliedBarton is unlikely to compromise unless the University pressures it to do so.
"It's a justice issue," Dale said. "It's a matter of people working on our campus who would like to talk with their employer about bettering their salary levels and working conditions and their employer being unwilling to talk."
Dale said that there are currently no plans in place for another meeting with University administrators.
Carnaroli was unavailable for comment.
