The Hoboken Housing Authority passed a resolution to peg wage rates for security officers at Housing Authority buildings to wage and benefit rates of the largest collective bargaining agreement for security officers in the county. This will raise officers’ total compensation to $20.55 an hour.
At Thursday’s Housing Authority Board of Commissioners meeting, Christin Hill, a security guard, 32BJ member and a Hoboken Housing Authority resident told commissioners that setting these higher standards will encourage guards to stay on the job longer and provide needed wage increases across the board.
“Many guards like me do not have a union contract and suffer from the race to the bottom that occurs when minimum standards are not set for public contracts. Without these minimum standards that you are considering today, a guard is only assured minimum wage and health plans that are often too expensive. By adopting this policy, you will be ensuring that your guards do not have to choose between having to pay for rent, groceries or medicine,” said Hill, a six-year security guard.
Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla said:
“The adoption of this critical resolution is a significant step forward in ensuring that the Hoboken Housing Authority security officers are compensated fairly for the essential work they do every day. By tying wage rates to the largest security officer collective bargaining agreement in the county, we are setting a higher standard for others to emulate and reinforcing our commitment to fairness and equity. I want to thank the Hoboken Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners for their leadership in adopting this measure and 32BJ SEIU for their unwavering advocacy in making this a reality.”
Adrian Orozco, 32BJ SEIU New Jersey Political Director, said:
“The proposed resolution to establish minimum wage and benefit rates for security contractors at Hoboken Housing Authority is a community-wide investment in Hoboken, promoting higher public safety standards for HHA residents while creating good jobs for low-wage workers. Service jobs that support the maintenance and operation of public housing authorities should pay living wages and promote pathways out of poverty. 32BJ commends HHA, its board and Director Marc Recko on their leadership on family-sustaining job standards and its commitment to uplifting Hoboken communities. We also thank Mayor Bhalla for his invaluable support for these higher standards.”
32BJ SEIU represents 15,000 cleaners, security officers, airport workers and food service workers in the state of New Jersey, 1,500 of whom work in Hudson County.
