'I said, 'No offense, but I only get paid one time, and that is to be a stocker,' said Williams, who today makes $11.50 an hour filling shelves with diapers, ramen and discount shampoo at a New Orleans store. Some months, he said, he can't make rent. 'So, sorry, I'm not about to put my life on the line,' he told his colleague.
The study concludes that NYC security guards earn a median income of $40,311, less than 40% of the city's Area Median Income, even though 84.7% of the guards work full-time and 88.7% work the full year. On average, the guards earn a median hourly wage of $20.29, but the report finds that about half earn even less.