skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Pittsburgh Security Guards Rally for Job Security

play audio
Play

Thursday, October 9, 2014   

PITTSBURGH - Steel City security guards rallied Downtown on Wednesday to demand greater job security, and to point out many of the private contractors hired by high-rise owners or managers don't offer their workers enough training, room for advancement, or sufficient pay for the modern-day challenges security guards face.

Kim McGowan, a security guard with contractor Chesley Brown, has been patrolling the same building for 16 years. She says her experience is unusual in an industry where turnover is high due to low wages, and believes the frequent turnover heightens the need for standardized training in areas from terrorism to workplace violence.

"We are on the front lines," says McGowan. "When something happens - like a medical emergency, if somebody fell, a couple arguing at a bus stop, a fire in the building - we're the first ones there."

The security guards are not union members, but are working with 32BJ SEIU to change that. They say one of the attractions is the union has developed a 40-hour training program for private security officers that is already being used successfully in New York City. There are no current training requirements for security contractors in Pittsburgh.

McGowan says Pittsburgh's downtown vacancy rate is low, and more businesses and people in those buildings means more responsibility for public safety. She adds the guards are also convinced joining a union would ensure pay and benefits are fair for all workers.

"We're not getting treated equally," she says. "They have their favorites. We devote a lot of our time and a lot of our lives to these people. I feel we need more respect."

At yesterday's security guard rally, paramedics, firefighters and clergy members all were on hand to support their efforts.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021