CHA Workers Protest the Outsourcing of Front Desk Monitors

Chicago Housing Authority workers took their fight against privatization to Authority headquarters. On the chilly morning of September 30, workers flyered and raised awareness about the outsourcing of the Front Desk Monitor position. CHA awarded $163 million to three private security firms without any input from workers or CHA residents. Current Front Desk Monitors were allowed to apply through the private security companies – with lower pay, no benefits, and no pension.

“They didn’t talk to the community about replacing us. My entire building came down, even the property managers, to sign the petition to save our jobs. They have put their trust in us because we have been there for so long on site with them. Don’t just do this because you feel it’s saving you a dollar,” said Serena Burt who’s worked as a Front Desk Monitor since 2015.

A Kates Security Guard asleep on the job at a CHA building.

Front Desk Monitors work closely with CHA residents to provide assistance and keep buildings safe. Private security workers have started working in the building and workers already notice a difference in the quality of service. Workers spoke about rampant unprofessionalism, from coming to work out of uniform to having guests at work sites. One resident complained to union workers about a Kates security guard sleeping on the job.

Kates Detective and Security Agency, one of the companies that will be staffing security guards, was sued in 2017 by the mother of a man who was shot by a Kates security guard outside of CHA’s ABLA-Robert Brooks Homes. She was awarded $4.8 million after ruling the security guard was responsible for her son’s death.

Private companies will allow the quality of service to decline because they are motivated by profit. These companies mismanage workers and do not provide adequate training, leaving CHA residents to depend on ill-equipped and undertrained security workers. Privatization will hurt residents and the community as a whole.