Six months of labor negotiations between the officers and their employers came to a standstill Wednesday over health care benefits, according to labor representatives.
The Los Angeles chapter of the union, representing about 3,000 security officers, voted unanimously on May 11 to allow bargainers to call a strike if necessary, while the San Francisco group voted May 4 to allow a strike.
The security officers, first unionized in 2008, have also been seeking higher pay in their first-ever talks to renew their contract, which expired at the end of last year.
"These guys worked five years to get a contract, and this is our first set of negotiations ... and they're trying to reduce health care -- it's just a bad sign,'' said Anton Farmby, vice president of SEIU United Service Workers West.
Two of the Los Angeles-based employers, security contractors ABM Security and Universal Protection Services, "have not shown a serious commitment to the bargaining process,'' according to Farmby.
Representatives of the two security companies were not immediately available for comment.
The two employers have indicated they may opt for meeting the minimum requirements of the Affordable Care Act set to begin nationwide on Jan. 1, potentially weakening the security officers' health care benefits from their previous contract, Farmby said.
Already high deductibles for emergency room visits could rise to $3,000 from $1,000 for employees who are often paid about $12 per hour, union officials said.
Farmby said the other three Los Angeles employers involved in the contract negotiations seemed more open to their demands, but ABM Security and Universal Protection Services have significant influence as two of the larger employers in the area.
Board of Equalization Chair Jerome Horton joined a group of about 15 security officers during a rally outside Los Angeles City Hall today.
"When your families are not secure, when your job is not secure, when your health is not secure, the reality is, the building is not secure,'' Horton told the group.
After the rally, which served as a low-key though spirited debriefing with Horton and labor leaders, the group fanned out through City Hall to try to win support from city council members, including the mayor-elect, Councilman Eric Garcetti, who the union backed in May 21 runoff election.
Farmby said leaders at City Hall have relationships with office building owners and could help the union apply pressure on the security companies.
"We want public officials to know what's happening in our negotiations,'' he said.
A security officer at the rally, Ola Harris, 52, said she lives "paycheck to paycheck'' and wants ``healthcare that's affordable for our families.''
Harris said she works at a television studio in Hollywood.
The San Francisco chapter of the union also held a rally today outside San Francisco City Hall.
Source:Hollywood Patch