Metrorail security guards get pay increase
MIAMI - For the first time in 5 years, Miami-Dade security officers at transportation hubs have been given a pay raise. An armed security guard will now be able to take home $48,000.
It's an increase that could not come at a better time when there's a shortage of applicants willing to fill vacancies.
CBS4 talked with one security personnel who said, this will make a huge difference in her life.
"They'll literally go ahead and come up to our officers and say you know what I can't do it anymore, I really feel like taking my life," Ianna Santos said.
Santos is a security officer at the Dadeland South metro rail station. She told CBS4, there's much more that goes into this job other than protecting people, at times, officers help people struggling with mental health issues.
"I remember when I was little, we would go ahead and pay rent almost 700-800 bucks for an apartment, now when you look at apartments it's almost 2 grand, so every day with a cost of living now it's a struggle," she said.
On top of that, it can be a dangerous job at times. Back in February 2022, Norryantonio Pearce beat and took the gun from a security officer at the Culmer Metrorail Station. According to the arrest affidavit, it started because Pearce tried to skip the fare.
"It sets the bar for new officers to be able to say you know what this pay is worth coming," Santos said.
Santos along with other colleagues came out to the Miami-Dade County Commission meeting to ask for better pay, her union Local SIEU 32BJ has been working for 5 years to make this happen.
In a unanimous decision, all council members approved of the increase. The rate changes from $18.73 to $23.09. That math comes out to about $48,000 a year, which is an estimated 23% increase. However, the latest data from the US Census Bureau from 2021 showed that in Miami-Dade County the median household is $57,815.
"We do everything that is related to transit, from transporting the money from the stations to the deposit, from the bus yards," Dayron Hernandez said.
Hernandez hopes this increase will help his department become fully staffed.
"And so, as a community, we're asking someone to do a job we should always be willing to pay them right, and that's what this does," Oliver Gilbert, Miami-Dade County of Commissioners Chairman.
For Santos, this is enough for her to continue doing something that makes her proud.
"This job of course is not for the faint of heart but for us, I love my job, I love my job," Santos added.