Niccole Copelli has been a security guard in Miami-Dade for nearly a decade, working with Miami-Dade transit for at least the past year or so. She’s a veteran, having served in both the Marines and Army.
“It demands a lot,” she said, describing a day guarding the Metrorail. “It demands 10 to 12 hours, it demands our constant attention.”
On Tuesday, Copelli and dozens of other South Florida security officers rallied outside the Broward Government Center in Fort Lauderdale, demanding higher wages, better training and paid holidays. They are part of a nationwide union, 32BJ SEIU, which represents 175,000 workers nationwide and 2,000 in South Florida.
“We absolutely do the exact same thing that police do,” said Miami-Dade Metrorail guard Jahron Brown. “We’re actually the deterrent when it comes down to our job.”
Fights, domestic disputes and unruly passengers, he says, are a norm — recently, he was injured on the job helping a coworker who was assaulted.
Even after a month of occupational therapy for torn tendons in his elbow, he still has at least eight months to go before he’s fully recovered.
Likewise, Copelli has similar stories from the Metrorail, telling WLRN how she prevented a suicide at one of the stations.
“He was going through some chronic pain because he's elderly,” she said. “I did not leave that man's side; I did not feel comfortable being able to just leave him there by himself.”
“There's a lot of really intense situations like this – they may seem minor, but to me, even the smallest things could matter,” she said.
The 32BJ SEIU’s current contract, which covers around 2,000 officers, expires at the end of December. Higher wages and keeping up with the cost of living is one of the biggest changes union members said was needed.
“We still struggle to keep the roof on top of our family,” said Paul Jerome, a screener at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. “We struggle every day: but our job, we take it seriously.”
A survey that 32BJ SEIU, the officers’ union, conducted in October found that 55% of respondents skipped meals and half had to pay their mortgage or rent late, or missed making payments entirely.
Wages and paid holidays aren’t the only concerns. Several officers said that training for security guards is not as frequent or as thorough as they’d like.
“Training now is very generic, it doesn't really give you specifics on what you need to do,” said Jerome.
Helen O’Brien, vice president of 32BJ, said that security officers have to meet high standards to get these jobs, but often have to do the same work as police officers with fewer benefits.
“Most of them have to have associate's or bachelor's degrees or be a veteran or a former law enforcement,” O’Brien told WLRN. “They're studying, they're working hard, and they're not getting ahead.”
“They do very important work and they're not being paid or treated that way.”
The union chose Tuesday to rally for a few reasons. It’s the day after Veterans Day, when many security officers — large numbers who have served — miss a day of pay because they don’t have paid holidays.
Tuesday was also a meeting day for Broward County commissioners, who were in session just inside and upstairs from where security officers demonstrated.
“These are the people that you walk past back and forth every day, and the turnaround is so high, you don't even know their names,” said Brown, addressing commissioners during an interview with WLRN.
“Please make sure that you understand that their job is helping you do yours,” he said.
