I work for a US national security company and have for almost 3 years. For those who've never worked security before, the company I work for doesn't determine wages, give raises, offer PTO time or vacation time. They act as negotiator with the client company and work those things into the contract. In my area, we have contracts with a lot of industrial companies and large retail locations like malls and outlet chains. Depending on the site, the wages and benefits are based on what the client company has budgeted for security, which is often the last thing in their budget.
So, for instance, one mall may pay $9.50 an hour and offer no PTO, but a manufacturing site will offer $15.00 an hour but only 40 hours of PTO a year. Raises are only given at the time of renegotiation after a nebulous “performance review” which is difficult to quantify because security doesn't produce anything. It prevents things. And most contracts have a 30 day cancellation clause that allows the client to opt out of the contract at any time. The guards working there then must be relocated to other accounts, which often don't pay as much or have similar shifts. We are at the whim of the client and their fickle budget.
And if our area office is struggling with finding and keeping clients, the choices of relocation are slim. A lot of times people simply opt to quit instead of taking less pay and losing their PTO. If I had known the process and the way our employment and benefits are potentially in flux all the time, I would've never taken the job.