We are three of the more than 1,200 32BJ SEIU union security officers and cleaners who worked at the World Trade Center before 9/11. Security officers like us screened visitors, responded to medical emergencies, and, as our co-workers did on Sept. 11, 2001, acted as the buildings’ liaisons with the NYPD and FDNY. 32BJ SEIU members saved lives that day.
Twenty-four 32BJ SEIU members perished, some 2,000 (including the three of us) were laid off across Lower Manhattan, others fell sick.
The three of us are among the lucky ones who weren’t on the job at 8:46 a.m. (Two authors worked the night shift and got off at 7 a.m., and another called out for the day to attend a doctor’s appointment with his then-pregnant wife).
The tragedy showed us the power of solidarity. Our union, 32BJ SEIU, set up a clinic to help people navigate unemployment and workers’ comp, established a hardship fund, facilitated counseling services, provided legal help for members and union families navigating the Victims Compensation Fund, and negotiated with employers to extend members’ health coverage. We personally notified families of the co-workers we lost. From the time the trade center hit the ground, the union did everything it could to assist members and their families.
While some officers won back 32BJ SEIU union representation at the WTC in early 2001, others were still fighting, and getting paid as little as $7.50/hour.
The tragedy of 9/11 brought attention to how security officer wages and benefits did not match their essential role, sparking 32BJ SEIU’s Stand For Security campaign to uplift and organize thousands of security officers across the city.
We have made great strides, winning free union healthcare, fair schedules, fair wages, free legal services, free union classes, paid time off, and job protections for 20,000 New York City officers. This year, we pushed for the Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act in the City Council, a security officer minimum wage law that will raise the minimum wage for New York City security officers on Jan. 1, 2027.
But our city’s private security industry continues to balloon. Today, some 81,000 security officers work in New York City. Our work is not done.
According to a UC Berkeley Labor Center report, the NYC security industry suffers from a 77% turnover rate, 37.8% of NYC security officers are without health insurance through their employer or the employer of a household member, and non-union officers suffer from unpredictable schedules and no voice on the job.
That’s why 32BJ SEIU and union officers like us are coming together with non-union officers to launch an ambitious campaign to bring union protections to an additional 50,000 security officers who keep our city safe.
This is a fight for economic, racial and immigrant worker justice in an industry that is 90% workers of color and 44% foreign born.
It’s time to protect the protectors. We do that by winning real union protections.
We ask that New Yorkers have our back.
If you know a security officer in New York City who needs a union and is ready to fight for respect, send them to seiu32bj.org/nycsecurityorganizing.
Cumberbatch, Francisco and Doctor all worked security at the World Trade Center. They are members of 32BJ SEIU and continue to work as security officers in Manhattan.