Support a Safer Boston and Cambridge

There is a sad reality in the high-rise office buildings and universities of Boston and Cambridge. The people charged with the greatest of responsibilities— protecting the people and property of these great institutions— are living on the brink of poverty.

Too many of the 3,000 security officers serving as our first-line of defense in any crisis or emergency are paid little more than $10 an hour and don’t earn enough to afford health care coverage. Read More >>>

Insecurity Facts

Boston and Cambridge officers are paid $11 less than the self-sufficiency standard of $21.18/hour.
Training in some security companies consists of watching a videotape or taking an open book test.
Some security officers in Boston and Cambridge bring home a paycheck of approximately $320 a week—not enough to pay the rent and buy food for their families.
Despite hours of hard work, many security officers can only afford housing in the poorest neighborhoods with the highest crime rates.
Because some security firms pay low wages and offer health care that is out of reach, Massachusetts taxpayers are left to subsidize the health care and daily living expenses of some of these hardworking officers.

“It is time we told the security industry, ‘Pay your people a living wage, let them organize, and train them to a standard that improves all safety.’”

Mass. State Sen.
Jarrett T. Barrios,
Chair of the Senate
Joint Committee of
Public Safety and
Homeland Security