Business & Finance
Tech office security guards authorize strike across California
Unionized building security officers servicing OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and other major tech firms seek higher pay and improved benefits.
The short version
- Security personnel guarding major California tech firms voted to authorize an unfair-labor-practice strike.
- The labor action involves SEIU-United Service Workers West, which represents roughly 14,000 security workers across California.
- Workers are directly employed by third-party security contractors including Allied Universal, Securitas, and GardaWorld rather than the tech companies.
- It remains uncertain when or whether a full work stoppage will begin.
Key facts
- Union security personnel providing services for companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, and Salesforce authorized a strike on Wednesday.[Business Insider]
- The workers are represented by SEIU-United Service Workers West, a union representing around 14,000 security staff in the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles County.[Business Insider]
- The labor dispute involves contract negotiations with security staffing agencies, including Allied Universal, Securitas, and GardaWorld.[Business Insider]
- Anthropic previously instructed staff to work from home in anticipation of a potential strike by its security provider, Allied Universal.[Business Insider]
What remains uncertain
- It is not yet determined if or when union leadership will call a full work stoppage.[Business Insider]
Sources
- Office security workers for OpenAI, Anthropic, and other tech firms authorize a strikeBusiness Insider metered