House Democrat calls for hearings on government's largest security supplier

A congressional hearing is needed to examine charges of racism, discrimination and poor performance against the federal government's largest security supplier, Wackenhut, said United States Representative and member of the House Committee on Government Reform Diane Watson (D-CA) during a meeting of the Los Angeles Commission on Wackenhut and Security Standards in Los Angeles on Mar. 3. Watson, joined by California State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, Los Angeles Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, the Rev. Eric Lee of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater LA and Dr. Maulana Karenga of California State University-Long Beach, heard testimony from current and former employees of the nation's second largest security contractor about Wackenhut's business practices. Three Wackenhut security officers from the US Department of Energy's nuclear facility in Oak Ridge, TN, told the commission about the hostile environment at the complex that included repeated use of racial epithets, an incident involving a noose and hiring discrimination against other African American officers. "I am appalled that we have contractors here with federal government contracts being paid by tax payers' dollars... practicing the behavior of the '50s and the '60s," said Watson. "I will go to the chair of Homeland Security…. Not only will I report what I've heard today, but I will ask to hold a hearing." This is the latest in a string of calls by members of Congress to look further into Wackenhut's business practices. Just last month in a letter to the Inspector General of the Department of Energy, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, said he was "troubled by the department's use of [Wackenhut] to provide security at our nation's critical nuclear and energy facilities." Also at the Los Angeles commission meeting, a South African security officer employed by Wackenhut's parent company, Group 4 Securicor, testified about racism black workers have faced at work, including being called "baboons" and other derogatory terms, and allegations of toilets reserved for whites only. Watson, who also serves on the House of Representatives' Committee on International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations and Nonproliferation, announced during the meeting that she would encourage the committee to hold hearings on Group 4's treatment of workers in South Africa and other countries. She also vowed to look into the pattern of abuses by Group 4 in its three dozen contracts to guard US embassies overseas in countries such as Mozambique and Panama. Security officers also testified before the commission about problems at Wackenhut-guarded facilities that potentially compromised the security of those sites, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters in Washington, DC. "In this time of heightened security threats that include chemical and biological weapons, Wackenhut did not have a procedure to detect these potentially deadly agents nor did it provide adequate training to its officers on how to handle these situations," said former Wackenhut security officer Derrick Daniels, who worked at DHS. Another former Wackenhut officer, Terence Purnell, told the panel he was fired when managers learned he was part of an effort of security officers to form a union with the Service Employees International Union. Last January, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Wackenhut illegally intimidated and interrogated workers at the International Monetary Fund. Wackenhut is in a position to lead efforts to raise standards in the industry, yet the company is standing in the way of security officers in Los Angeles and around the country trying to improve their lives. The second- largest private security company in the United States, Wackenhut has more than $5 million in contracts with the city of Los Angeles to protect buildings that include the Watts and Van Nuys city halls.