The Charles Story
Alt. Text. An image of a Black man, Charles Amankwa, wearing glasses and a security guard uniform, smiling at the camera. (Photo by Shanaz Deen)
The first time I met Charles, I was struggling to open the door that leads to the courtyard. It was my third week at Union, and I had yet to understand the tricks and hacks of the place. It was late, about 11 or 12 at night, and Charles looked up to see me struggling. He watched me for a beat, then got up slowly and opened it, saying, “You have to press hard, right here on the handle.”
I'm proud to say that I can now open the door on my own, but am still learning the finesse of doing so without startling whoever is working at the front desk.
In passing, whenever I say hello to Charles, he responds to a question I haven't asked yet. "Hi, hello, fine." But one afternoon, I stopped in my hurry to hear more about Charles and his story.
Charles Amankwa, 65, was born in an industrial town right outside of Kumasi, Ghana. As the son of a father in the military, he was no stranger to moving. Eventually he left Ghana, because the political instability of the country made it difficult for him to operate his business of selling used auto parts. After spending short stints in Nigeria and even a few years in Hamburg, Germany, Charles began to consider what his life could be like in the U.S. after his brother suggested that it was a place where, “if you work hard and don't do stupid things, it will turn out alright.”
In 1999, Charles left Ghana for New York City. The first day he arrived, gobsmacked at the skyscrapers, he took a cab from JFK with all of his belongings to meet his younger brother at his Tracey Towers apartment in the Bronx. There, on the 21st floor, he would begin his life in the States.
For over 24 years, Charles – in addition to being a proud Ghanaian and an ambivalent fan of Manchester United and Chelsea's football teams (it really depends on whoever is winning) – has been a New Yorker. He lives in the Bronx where he spends time with his wife, watches cable news, and attends a Ghanaian Methodist church.
Being relatively new to the city myself, I'm still enthralled by all of the ways that people exist in this place. How do outsiders become insiders in the greatest city on Earth? What’s enthralling to me about New York City, among so many things, is how expensive and difficult it is to live here and yet, so many of us do.
I suppose, like Charles, someone works enough hours to pay rent and continue living. Continue riding the subway to take the bus to New Rochelle, or attend the neighborhood Methodist church, or save enough money to go back to the country that makes living in this one bearable.
For Charles, the country that makes living in this one bearable – home – is filled with fufu (a delicious Ghanaian dish made of boiled cassava and yams), dried fish, highlife music, and family. It’s a place that is far away and hard to get to, but worth the arduous journey. Despite Charles’ deep connections to his homeland, he has only returned once in the seven years he has worked at Union.
Why is this so?
Part of why it has been so hard for Charles to return home to Ghana is because of how difficult it is for security guards to obtain vacation days.
Ever since the security guards reached an agreement last year to form a union and negotiate for higher wages, the Union community and the administration, in particular, have been grappling with two questions: What is our responsibility in advocating on behalf of and ensuring a quality of life for our essential workers? And who makes the decisions about pay and vacation days ?
In regards to increasing pay, the official response has always been that Allied Universal, Union’s contracting company, has the ultimate say. But that's a cop out in my opinion. The Union community is Allied’s client, and we can decide on how we want this place to impact the lives of every single person who passes through it. Just as we depend on the labor of the security guards and the porters, they depend on our imagination, creativity, and commitment to establish a working environment of equity and justice.
We have already seen that improvements towards equity and justice can be achieved.
When Charles first arrived at Union, the pay was only $15.50 per hour, and the turnover rate for security guards was extremely high. In the spring of 2022, however, something changed, and the path to a different way opened up.
“With the help of the students, we organized and they increased the pay and now we come to life. To be able to pay for transportation, rent, and find something to eat,” Charles remarked.
The campaign and achievement of higher wages was a collective effort and tour de force of our values and commitment to justice and equity. In the struggle for liberation, there will always be a conversation about tactics and theories of change, but as it stands, the organized power of the Union community, led by security guards and students, gave us a window into the possibilities of another way forward. But there is still much to do.
When I spoke with Tyrone, the union representative for the security guards, he mentioned that consistent communication is still a main issue between Allied managers, the Union administration, and the security guards. It’s worth noting that Allied Universal is one of the largest private security companies in the world and that it’s a far cry to rely on them to care about the needs of their employees. This is why it is crucial that the Union administration is able to advocate on their behalf when need be.
Now that the security guards have successfully negotiated a new contract, they are the ones tasked with holding one of the world’s largest security companies accountable for recognizing and respecting it. Whether that is in regards to paid vacation or sick days, or increases in pay, the security guards at Union are once again in a vulnerable position and at the mercy of a contracting company that prioritizes profits over people.
And so, again, we must consider how we are continuing to live out our values and commitment to justice and equity as it pertains to the Union employees who are contracted with Allied.
We, the Union community, should consider how we can hold Allied Universal accountable in hearing and meeting the needs of Union’s security guards. This starts with making sure that the security guards and Union staff have consistent communication in place to share those needs.
And more importantly, if it proves better to terminate a contract with Allied for the purpose of achieving just working conditions, then we must be prepared to do that.
I’m very pleased to say that in the time it took for me to write this article, Charles, with the help of Anthony, another security guard, was able to get his vacation time approved after several months of back-and-forth with Allied. As he nears his 66th birthday in August, Charles is looking forward to returning back to Ghana in July to celebrate with his family and enjoy his hard-earned, paid vacation.
“Money is not everything. Sometimes it’s good to go home and meet your family there and see what’s going on in the country,” he said.
I'm still finding my way around this place, learning its tricks and hacks, and stubborn doors. But Charles and the team of security guards have always been there to show me the way. In fact, the first time I tried to conduct this interview, I had locked myself out of my room, and he was the one, along with Anthony, to help me get back in.
The solution to meaningful change isn't always an easy one. It takes a bit of understanding how this place works, along with imagination and resilience to create a new path forward. But we cannot simply give up and wait for someone else to solve the problems. There is always a way in.
