No Strangers in Our Schools!

NEA Today, Nov 2004

When school board members in Garden City, Michigan, announced plans this year to fire their custodial staff and replace them with lower-paid, non-union private employees, hundreds of parents rushed to save the men and women caring for their kids.

"HOW DO YOU GUARANTEE that private custodians will have the same code of ethics and love for my child? We don't want this. It's not good for the kids and it's not the right thing to do," one mother told board members.

James Smith, a custodian whose job was threatened, agreed. "I'm a father figure in my school. We take care of these kids. We sacrifice for them."

Hours before the scheduled vote, pressure from parents and local union officials finally worked. The jobs of at least 50 custodians, many with 20-plus years of service, were saved when the education support professional negotiating unit settled with the district.

The negotiators accepted a wage freeze for this year, with the promise of a salary re-opener next year, and retained all fringe benefits, including health insurance. Four custodians will be laid off but offered work as substitutes.