Guardteck Security guards have joined SEIU Local 2. The successful organizing effort brought together thirty security guards employed by Guardteck Security Corporation at the City of Lougheed, a 37-acre property owned by the real-estate and investment company Shape Properties.
“I have worked in the industry for more than a decade, all over the Lower Mainland, and I’ve found a lot of the same problems,” said security guard Allison Easey. “I’m hoping other guards will follow our example and fight for the respect they deserve.”
Workers originally filed their application for certification at the BC Labour Board on November 14, 2022. The employer filed challenges but at the end of the day however, the workers prevailed. Guardtech dropped its challenges last week and workers will now be able to move forward with bargaining a first-ever Guardteck collective agreement.
“I’m very relieved we’ve finally won our union. Keeping our team strong and motivated through this process was really challenging,” said Easey. “We needed to show each other that we were unwavering in our belief in what we were doing.”
“Our hopes for bargaining are what you might expect in terms of wages and benefits, but we are hoping for deeper systemic change,” said Kamya Goldan, a patrol guard. ”I want this industry to become a more dignified and comfortable place to be.”
Shape Properties describes their redevelopment of the City of Lougheed as Canada’s “largest new master planned community,” with nearly a billion dollars of investment, millions of square feet of commercial space and twenty residential towers.
Guardteck is a major national security contractor, servicing contracts with numerous government and commercial and retail clients such as Morgaurd, Cadillac Fairview, and Cushman & Wakefield among many others. SEIU represents security and property service workers across Canada.
