Staying ahead of the game

NEA Today, Oct 1998

Texas NEA members stop food service privatization before it starts.

There are times when you're reminded that you need to be just as united as your administrators-like when a gaggle of 'em attend a public meeting on school privatization and record every word uttered by a teacher or a bus driver.

In this unfriendly fashion, central office officials in Conroe, Texas, chaperoned a "town hall meeting" held last fall on the district's plans to contract out food services.

The note-taking supervisors didn't rattle leaders of the 1,000-member Conroe Education Association. In calm, professional fashion, they ran a well-attended Saturday morning panel discussion, which fairly presented both sides of the privatization debate.

The talk was helpful, but research eventually carried the day. CEA's compilation of contracting-out horror stories from districts across Texas and the nation, backed by privatization data from NEA researchers, helped sway public opinion-and, ultimately, the Conroe school board.

Also influencing the board was a labor-management cost-cutting committee's recommendation against privatization. The panel found that Conroe's new food service manager had actually put operations in the black-largely through better billing practices and quality control.

Barely a month after the town hall meeting, the school board voted against privatizing food services. Keys to CEA's success:

Involving support staff. For six Saturdays in a row, an ESP Task Force gathered research on the track record of privatizers across the country and cranked out flyers, letters, and position papers. Bus drivers delivered these materials to parents and urged them to write letters to newspaper editors.

"Our biggest concern," says driver Lottie Thacker, "was that if they privatized food service, there would be a domino affect on services like transportation. We rallied behind food service workers and encouraged them to get involved."

Making the right arguments. When support employees-many of whom are parents or grandparents of kids in Conroe schools-articulated concerns about wage cuts or child safety, taxpayers listened.

"Most parents," Thacker explains, "prefer to have friends and neighbors working with their kids rather than transient workers whose bosses are some distant corporation."

Staying on top of the school board. CEA members, even food service workers in their aprons, appeared en masse at school board meetings. At each meeting, a different Association leader shared CEA's latest research and voiced the local's opposition to privatization.

Building teacher-ESP unity. Teacher Dennis Blake, an Association rep at Oakridge High School, played a leading role in organizing a second CEA task force to educate certified staff on the privatization issue and gain their support for the campaign.

Using Association reps to get the word out. School-site Association reps also "alerted people of the dangers privatization poses to jobs and quality," reports UniServ Director Pam Fowler.

"They handed out materials directed at teachers and spread the word to professional staff. They asked, `If we don't prevent privatization of auxiliary services, what will keep the district from privatizing instruction down the road?' That got folks interested."

Staying vigilant. Because CEA leaders monitor school board meetings, they learned about privatization plans right away-and acted quickly.

"You've got to stay informed about what your administration is doing," Thacker stresses, "and know what's happening in other districts, because the same thing could happen in yours."

For More Information

Fax UniServ Director Pam Fowler at 281/496-6650.