PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia security workers say employers are not spending enough to train them to keep people safe.
Union leaders with 32BJ SEIU have called on City Council to pass legislation requiring a minimum of 40 hours of training for private security officers, plus annual refreshers on specific topics like CPR, de-escalation and emergency response.
Councilmember Isaiah Thomas introduced the bill. “We can’t keep asking our security officers to put themselves in a position to not just be at risk, but then we’re asking them to have the backs of people they never met a day in their life while we don’t have their back,” he said.
Security guard Beverly Thornton said she learned through life experiences how to help others, and wishes her employer would provide more training.
“We have to deal with unclothed individuals in the bathroom washing their clothes in the sink, and have to deal with getting spit at, threatened and cursed out,” said Thornton.
“I have even had someone overdose in the restroom and I had to crawl underneath the stall to try to get under the stall to help them.”
SEIU currently counts 3,000 Philadelphia security officers among its members. Leaders are calling for the unionization of all of the city’s 14,000 security officers, especially as employers plan for a major influx of tourists to the city in 2026 for major events, including the FIFA World Cup, MLB All Star Game and the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“We have a moment to see an economic boom that could change the directory of the city of Philadelphia for the next 20 to 25 years to come,” said Thomas, “but that doesn’t work if we don’t take care of the people who take care of us.”