Security Officers/Guards/Police Decisions

Under the Missouri Public Sector Labor Law, police officers are not permitted to join labor organizations. The term police has been interpreted to encompass those persons engaged in law enforcement who, regardless of job title, perform duties and functions substantially comparable to those performed by police and deputy sheriffs.

With security guards, there are three issues: First, are they in fact police officers? If they are police, they are excluded from joining labor organizations. Second, should security guards be included in the same bargaining unit as non-security guards? Generally, Security guards are not included in the same bargaining unit as non-security guards. Third, can unions that represent non-security guards represent security guards? In the past, unions that represent non-security guards have been permitted to represent security guards.