The management company for Harbor East said Monday it has contracted with a Baltimore-based firm to provide security at its properties, ending an agreement with a Kentucky firm that had come under fire from union organizers.
As part of the new contract, Baltimore's Abacus Corp. will pay a starting wage for security personnel that is at least the Baltimore City living wage, or $11.46 an hour as determined by city ordinance, Abacus and Harbor East Management Group officials said. Employees also will be offered benefits that include paid vacation time, paid personal days and health insurance.
"We are thrilled to hire a local, Baltimore-based company for our security services," said Tim O'Donald, president of Harbor East Management Group, in a news release. "It was very important to us for our contractor to increase the wages and benefits of the dedicated security personnel at Harbor East. In some cases, wages will increase as much as 25 percent over the prior contract."
Abacus is to start providing services in mid-June, with plans to hire between 70 and 100 employees, said Michael Brady, chief operating officer for Abacus. The family-owned firm has offices in 19 states and employs more than 12,000 service workers, including about 1,500 residents of Baltimore City.
The previous contractor, Kentucky-based Brantley Security, was acquired by Universal Services of America of California in February. A Universal spokeswoman could not be reached for comment late Monday.
The company had been the target of protests organized by the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, which represents property service workers. The group cited $9-an-hour pay, and filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board over what it said were efforts to block unionization efforts.
A security guard at Harbor East also was featured in an Al Jazeera America report last year about low-wage work.
Harbor East started looking for a new security contractor because five years had passed since it sought bids for the service, and it was time to make sure the agreement was competitive, spokeswoman Megan McCloskey said. Pressure from labor organizers did not affect the process, she said.
"Going through the bidding process allowed us to re-evaluate the wages and benefits offered by our contractor to their employees," she wrote in an email. "Any issues the union had with prior contractors did not directly involve us and therefore had no bearing on our decision to bid out the contract."
Under the new contract, Abacus and Harbor East said, starting pay will follow the city's living wage standard, set by ordinance each year for firms that receive city service contracts. The living wage has historically been higher than the state minimum wage, which is set to increase to $8.25 in July.
In a statement, 32BJ SEIU Vice President Jamie Contreras called the agreement to start pay at the living wage a "step in the right direction" but said the group would continue to try to organize workers.
"Harbor East security officers have spent the last two years organizing their co-workers, holding rallies, protests and testifying at City Hall to improve their jobs," he said. "A living wage is a step in the right direction, but we plan to keep pushing to raise security industry standards."
The average security guard in the Baltimore-Towson metro area earns about $29,440 a year, slightly higher than the $28,040 national average, according to data released in May by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average hourly pay for security guards in the region is about $14.16, according to the BLS.
Current employees can apply for the Abacus positions. A job fair is planned from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, June 8, at 1001 Fleet St.