Security Guards at Googleplex Protest for Full-Time Work

A group of activists held a protest outside Google headquarters in Mountain View Thursday afternoon to call on the company to provide more hours to employees of its security contractor, Security Industry Specialists.

"The goal is to make their job a full-time job," said Kevin O'Donnell, a representative of the Service Employees International Union Local United Service Workers West. "While the wages are in line with what other companies pay it's the hours athat re the issue because it makes it hard to make ends meet."

The protesters claim the employees only work part-time and therefore don't qualify for benefits or sick days, making it difficult to survive in Silicon Valley.

"The janitors who clean the Google campus have a union, so they have all of these things. They have have benefits, paid holidays and paid sick-days," O'Donnell said. "We feel that if Google can have full-time janitors, they could probably have full-time security officers."

Some held banners that read "Google Don't Be Evil, Hire a Responsible Contractor." Mountain View Patch has reached out to Google, but did not receive a comment in time for publication. 

According Manny Cardenas, a security guard at the Googleplex for 11 months, a lot of them feel the same way but "aren’t being as vocal because they can be fired without cause."

"I’m speaking out because I’m thinking about the future of Silicon Valley," Cardenas, a 24-year-old who lives in North San Jose. "I’m not doing it so much for myself because I’m a student and I don’t see my career being a security officer. I’m doing it for my co-workers."

Cardenas, who has a 4-year-old daughter, currently received food stamps and MediCal. He lives with his mother. He explained that what he makes as a part-time work is "definitely lot livable."

He added that he didn't think Google "would avoid the issue" because they hope to organize all security guards in Silicon Valley

"It’s not a good move by them because they should be supporting the people who live here," Cardenas said.

The protest took place at Charleston Park off of Amphitheatre Parkway and included participantes in Silicon Valley for the NetRoots Nation community organizing conference taking place in San Jose this weekend.

The protesters delivered an "Open Letter to Google from Concerned Members of Our Community" signed by more than 3,500 activists, labor leaders, and elected officials. The letter urges Google to take a leading role in fighting income inequality in Silicon Valley, where food stamp participation, homelessness, and poverty are all on the rise.