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Despite pay dispute, our members never quit on students
POUGHKEEPSIE — Poughkeepsie City School District officials haven’t done the right thing when it comes to paying our CSEA-represented security guards on time, but our members recently showed that they never quit on the district’s students despite blatant disrespect from district officials.
Knowing that both the boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball teams were headed to Section 1 playoffs, our members had a difficult decision to make.
District officials made an arbitrary decision several months ago to pay security guards for their work at the end of the basketball season, rather than in each paycheck, as they’ve always been paid. The workers, along with our CSEA representatives, were in the midst of negotiating a resolution to the standoff when the time came for playoff games.
Our members chose to set the positive example district officials hadn’t. Even knowing there were no guarantees about when they’d
finally be paid their back wages, they showed up to work.
“This has been an incredible year for Poughkeepsie’s basketball teams and our members don’t want the ineptitude of certain district officials to hurt the teams’ chances of state championships,” Southern Region President Billy Riccaldo said in a news release announcing the workers’ decision.
Each year, CSEA members employed as district security guards supervise home basketball games. Wages for working those games have been paid to employees in their regular paychecks, not at the end of the basketball season.
Despite a district official’s comment to local media stating that CSEA had agreed for security guards to receive payment in full at the end of the season, there was no such agreement.
While the security guards agreed to work the remaining games of this basketball season, CSEA will file a complaint on our members’ behalf to
CSEA-represented Poughkeepsie City School District security guards and union members pictured before a home basketball game, from left: John Rogers, Shaun Wanyou, Tye Douglas, Renee Johnson and Elvis Taylor Sr.
St. Lawrence County solid waste workers put outsourcing plan in the trash
CANTON — By coming together and speaking out, our members working at the St. Lawrence County Solid Waste Department recently stopped county lawmakers from outsourcing jobs.
It was a big victory for a small group of workers who aren’t typically active in our union.
“We’re a small unit, so we don’t have a lot of need to be real active in our union, but when something like this comes along, we band together to make sure we’re protecting our public services and jobs,” said Unit President Tim Dawley.
CSEA represents about a dozen workers in the department, who operate the county’s four solid waste transfer stations and haul waste from them to the regional landfill.
When the county proposed potentially outsourcing the solid waste services, a move that could
March 2018
jeopardize the quality of public services, our members stood together to advocate to keep the services public.
Several CSEA members,
including Dawley and St. Lawrence County Local President Amy Simmons, recently spoke against the outsourcing plan at a recent
St. Lawrence County Legislature meeting at which lawmakers were planning to vote on a resolution to seek bids from private companies to outsource their trash hauling work.
Simmons urged the legislators to seek money-saving ideas from the employees before outsourcing their work.
“Last year, we worked with the county to find savings in health insurance and it was our union workers who knew the best ways to save money and keep control,” Simmons said. “Why would you not
have the people who do the work and who know how things work give their input on finding cost savings?”
Simmons also questioned the need for cutting or outsourcing essential public services.
“When are you going to stop trying to get rid of services and start trying to bring in businesses?” she asked legislators.
Dawley reminded lawmakers
that a prior cost benefit analysis recommended against outsourcing the county’s solid waste operations.
Following that study, county officials purchased more than $1 million in additional equipment
for the department over the past few years. Dawley noted that these purchases would be a waste of taxpayer money if they outsourced operations.
“They were going to sign this equipment over to the highest bidder
and still continue making payments for them,” Dawley said. “I didn’t think the county had any business financing equipment for a private operator.”
Several other workers spoke out against the outsourcing plan. When it came to a vote, the measure was defeated in a tie, as it needed a majority to pass.
Simmons said she is proud of our members’ actions.
“I think this again shows what
it means to be a union member,
to all come together, not just for themselves, but for all the people in the county who benefit from their services,” she said. “They take great pride in their work, and I’m proud
to support them, knowing how hard they work and the great job they do.”
— Mark M. Kotzin
the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.
“What has happened here is clear wage theft,” Riccaldo said. “Many of our security guards have not been paid for their work at basketball games since the end of November. These are people who, just like the rest of us, have bills to pay and families to support.”
As this edition went to press, CSEA was negotiating an agreement with the district for future work at athletic events and demanding that members be paid all wages owed to them.
“This injustice is a reminder of
why belonging to the union is so important,” said CSEA Dutchess Educational Employees Local President Scott Rajczi. “Being part of a union gives workers the freedom to speak up on the job, which is what our members have done so courageously. They should be proud of themselves for doing the right thing for the students even when the district has failed to do the same. Our CSEA members aren’t just the backbone of the Poughkeepsie schools, they’re also the heart.”
— Jessica Ladlee
The Work Force 9