- So, Let's Talk Hypothetically About Budget Cuts
- Nutter Town Halls Back on Tonight
- Brian Hickey Seriously Injured
- Filmmaker sought to Document and Follow the Timeline of Political, Zoning and Environmental Crimes in Philly
- FDR, Obama, and the Path to Health Care Reform in 2009
- How We Vote
- It's Our City Interview with Mike Nutter
- Witnesses to Hunger
- Reardon's Actual Library Closing Criteria
- Books for everyone: Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy
Temple University Locks Philadelphia Clergy Out-
Submitted by Fabricio Rodriguez on Fri, 09/07/2007 - 11:44am.
September 7, 2007, Philadelphia, PA- 115 students, clergy, community activists and AlliedBarton security guards, the Philadelphia Officers and Workers Rising (POWR) Campaign, marched on the campus of Temple University. The rally gathered to demand a meeting with Temple University Administrators concerning the fact that more than 300 AlliedBarton security guards that work at the university lack any paid sick leave.
The clergy group was surprised to find when they went to deliver a letter about the situation to President Ann Weaver Hart’s office that Sullivan Hall had been locked and was guarded by armed Temple Police Officers. Though many workers were still in the building, and possibly in violation of Philadelphia Fire Codes, the main entrances to Sullivan Hall were locked and fortified.
The letter from clergy and union leaders and more than 400 petition signatures from Temple students were supposedly delivered by Raymond Betzner, Director of Communications. Mr. Betzner agreed to deliver the materials and return to the rally to confirm the requested meeting. Leaders from the POWR Campaign waited for one hour and twenty minutes for Mr Betzner to no avail.
The clergy delegation that wanted to confirm a meeting included Temple Alumni, Dr. Reverend Renee McKenzie, Calvary Episcopal and Reverend Gregory Wilson. Despite their connections to Temple University, they were still turned away from Sullivan Hall, a public university facility. Other clergy who were denied the basic request of speaking with any one who could confirm a meeting were Reverend Schaunel Steinnagel, Pastor Jay Broadnax, Pastor Beverly Dale, Rabbi Rav Soloff.
A follow up article published in the online edition of the Temple Times reveals how deeply Temple Administrators disrespect the community. Though Mr Betzner left prominent Philadelphia clergy standing outside of Sullivan Hall and never even dignified their meeting request with a response, Mr Betzner did speak with the press, "Other than insisting that our vendors comply with applicable labor laws, it is our policy not to intervene into the employer-employee relationship at companies that do business on our campus."
The article went further by acknowledging that Temple has been ignoring JwJ calls for justice for years. “He asserted that Temple's position on the issue has remained consistent since SLAP brought it up in 2004.”
Please call the Office of Ann Weaver Hart today and demand that she meet with the Jobs with Justice Delegation. President Hart can be reached at (215) 204-7405 or e-mail at president@temple.edu
Bookmark/Search this post with:
I always find it
I always find it particularly strange when our local universities- who are hypersensitive to campus security- don't think it is a good idea to actually make security jobs good paying and with benefits. Even from a pure economic standpoint, why would you want a sick security guard watching your campus?
Or, to put it another way, how much does a blue emergency phone take to install? How much more is a healthy, invested security force worth than that?
Temple Security
Having worked for the TU police for 4 years, I know a little bit about Temple Security.
First, there are the police officers. They are real-deal police and are part of a union.
Second, there are Temple Security Officers that are unionized and actual TU employees.
Third, there are the private contractors. Allied Barton is a private contractor who supplies some, but not all, of Temple's security services. When I was there, it was Specta Guard.
Last, there are the student representatives in the halls, sometimes working very closely with the actual Temple SOs.
Related to the third, the real culprits are not necessarily TU, but Allied Barton (the company) who likely bid a contract with Temple that is crappy. Allied Barton Security officers are likely not Temple employees. They are independent contractors. TU's responsibility is to ensure it's contractors comply with labor laws, but not to treat ICs as employees. Certainly, the next go-round, Temple could insist that sick time be included in the contract, but that is a choice the Trustees would have to make. I'd imagine that, there would be no purpose to have ICs if Temple had to treat them like actual employees.
I am working to elect Larry Farnese to the General Assembly. Unless otherwise expressly stated, this and every comment or blog I post on YPP and any action I take hereon is solely attributable to me and not Farnese or Friends of Farnese
But that is the point,
But that is the point, right. You have a huge Philly institution who could certainly ensure that workers on their campus are treated fairly. But instead, they just say, "hey, you are independent contractors!"
TU's only legal responsibility is to ensure labor laws are being followed. But, as an educational institution in Philadelphia, that is a piece of Philadelphia, they should be pressed to do more.
"Educational Institution"
That is the point.
I'd agree that pressuring them to do more (on the next contract) is the right thing to do. But, when Temple originally privitized portions of their security force (which included layoffs of its own employees), it was the keep costs and tuition down for students as the state's funding, compared to inflation, was not increasing.
Surely I'd love to see Allied Barton security workers treated more fairly. Moreover, I would have loved if in the mid 1990s, TU didn't layoff its own employees. But where does the money come from? And, it would take money. Money on the next contract, money to modify this contract. There is no money tree--it has to come from somewhere.
Does it come from:
Increasing tuition (I'm sure the parents of 30,000 TU students would be happy about that, or all the students paying their own tuition);
Increasing the universities debt;
A dip into the endowment (it's not large comparatively);
Increase state funding (not likely).
TU, like most companies, and so many individuals hire independent contractors for a reason--to save money.
Who is the bad guy? Not Temple. Allied Barton is the bad guy on this issue. They are the employer, not TU.
I'm not trying to be the bad guy here, I'm trying to be practical. It seems Penn was able to cave into the pressure, so keep it up. But, judging from this article, the Allied workers have other concerns and issues, particualrly with SEIU. And, again, Allied is bad guy.
http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2007/08/30/allied-affront
I am working to elect Larry Farnese to the General Assembly. Unless otherwise expressly stated, this and every comment or blog I post on YPP and any action I take hereon is solely attributable to me and not Farnese or Friends of Farnese
uh
The Philadelphia security market is exceptional in the eyes of AlliedBarton. AlliedBarton is based in King of Prussia and it’s largest shareholder is billionaire financier and native Philadelphian, Ronald O. Perelman. Despite the conflict of interest, Mr. Perelman is on the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, is a major donor to both Penn and Temple all while serving on the Board of Allied Holdings Company. A Temple Board of Trustees member, Howard Gittis, is also on the Board of Directors of MacAndrews and Forbes Holdings Company, this investment company is Ron Perelman’s cash cow. Perelman’s donations to the campuses may or may not have a bearing on the company’s multi-million dollar contracts, but the net result is that the campus administrations are more than happy to ignore our pleas for justice rather than bite the hand that feeds them. This complacency is buttressed when Board of Trustees members directly profit from the lucrative security contracts awarded to their companies.
In summary, SEIU Local 32BJ has been supportive of Jobs with Justice and social justice movements in Philadelphia for years. Though SEIU International did not leave the POWR Campaign (Philadelphia Officers and Workers Rising) in the best position, the blame for the low-wages, inaccessible health care, no pensions and no or inadequate sick-leave must be laid at the feet of Ronald O. Perelman (Allied Barton). The complicity of the university Presidents, Ann Weaver Hart and Amy Guttman, must not be ignored. It is unethical to ignore the suffering of these workers to keep the big donations coming in, or to reward this exploitation with big dollar security contracts.