The strike called attention to the guards’ critical role in protecting Silicon Valley’s wealthiest businesses.

Sep 18, 2026

Updated 4:38 pm PT

Security officers and supporters rally outside 555 California St., in San Francisco, on Sept. 18, 2026, during a strike over wages, benefits and working conditions. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

Thousands of security guards across California walked off the job Friday, demanding a pathway to a $30 minimum wage and improved benefits.

The Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West, a union that represents 14,000 security guards, announced the strike on Tuesday after months of negotiations with 15 private-security contractors and employers, including Allied Universal and Securitas, which staff some of the Bay Area’s largest businesses. 

Workers, union leaders and their supporters rallied outside of the Salesforce headquarters in downtown San Francisco on Friday morning, where they called attention to inequality in the Bay Area and the guards’ critical role in protecting the city’s economic engines. 

“Here in San Francisco, we have extremely profitable companies, big tech companies, that are doing well,” Sanjay Garla, SEIU-USWW vice president, said. “There’s a whole host of service workers that help contribute to that success.”

Security officers and supporters rally outside 555 California St., in San Francisco, on Sept. 18, 2026, during a strike over wages, benefits and working conditions. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman speaks at a rally with striking security officers and supporters outside 555 California St., in San Francisco, on Sept. 18, 2026.

Security officer Jakia Lane speaks at a rally with striking security officers and supporters outside 555 California St., in San Francisco, on Sept. 18, 2026.

Though not legal first responders, security workers often act as the first line of defense by being the first people on the scene in emergency situations. 

“Right now, our minimum rate in San Francisco in our contract is less than $2 over minimum wage,” Garla said. “That’s just unthinkable for me when you have to get licensed to do this job and stand in front of a building and put your life and limb at risk.”

Guards report receiving limited training and low wages — making an annual mean wage of just $21.61 in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keven Adams, who has worked as a security guard for 36 years, said that in that time he’s “seen it all.”

SEIU-USWW union officer and security guard Keven Adams speaks at a rally with security officers and supporters outside 555 California St., in San Francisco, on Sept. 18, 2026.

San Francisco Supervisor Alan Wong speaks at a rally with striking security officers and supporters outside 555 California St., in San Francisco, on Sept. 18, 2026.

Security officers and supporters rally outside 555 California St., in San Francisco, on Sept. 18, 2026.

Security officer Maxray Garibay speaks at a rally with striking workers and supporters, in San Francisco, on Sept. 18, 2026.

“I’ve been assaulted at work. I’ve been robbed at work. I’ve been held at gunpoint at work. I’ve saved people’s lives. I’ve found a dead body,” Adams said. 

Garla said that the union “saw real change at the bargaining table” after giving 72-hour notice of their strike, and they are “hopeful” that today’s action will get the employers to the table.

“We have made substantial progress in negotiations as part of our commitment to finding common ground,” Allied Universal wrote in a statement. Securitas did not respond to KQED’s request for comment. 

The union and the companies will return to the bargaining table on Wednesday, Adams said. 

KQED’s Juan Carlos Lara contributed to this report.