After three days of urging security industry clients to choose responsible contractors who back good jobs for America's veterans, a small brigade of vets is saying goodbye to ASIS 2013 in Chicago. "When clients say yes to responsible contractors who pay fair wages and allow their officers the freedom to form a union, they're saying yes to good jobs for veterans," says Kevin Upshaw, a member of 32BJ-SEIU in Philadelphia.

This week the veteran Upshaw (U.S. Army, 3rd Infantry Division) joined with fellow veterans Warren Reed (U.S. Marines, 2nd Battalion), Charles Wilson (U.S. Army, 1-19th Field Artillery Battalion), Tom Gozzo (U.S. Air Force, 553rd Radar Squadron), Al Martin Sr. (U.S. Army, 333rd Military Police), and William Schranz (U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Mahan, DDG-72) to raise awareness for the need for good jobs for U.S. security officers--one of five of whom are veterans. After serving their country more than 200,000 veterans have found work as security officers--and often face low wages, poor healthcare, unpredictable schedules, and little or no paid time-off.