In Metro Schools, the Fight Continues
Dean's "Fully Funded Budget" Does Not Stop Privatization
During his State Of Metro Address, Mayor Karl Dean said that he will “fully fund” the School Board’s request of $633 million for next year’s budget. What he didn’t say, and what a lot of people don’t know, is that a “fully funded” budget does not solve the issue of outsourcing nearly 700 custodians and groundskeepers in MNPS.
It is important for SEIU members and all employees at MNPS to understand that the fight is not over yet. Custodians and groundskeepers are still on target to lose their jobs, pay, and benefits on July 1 unless we continue to fight. How can we do that?
The Metro Council and the School Board still need to hear from you, your family, and the teachers, students, and parents you work with. You should make sure they understand a few things:
- There is a serious security risk to our schools by hiring a for-profit company who is looking for every chance to cut costs. As Channel 4 revealed, one of the contractors who is bidding on the job – GCA Services - has a history of cutting corners on background checks. In Jackson, TN, one of their employees was arrested and convicted of raping a 16-year old student. In Texas, immigration officials rounded up nearly two dozen undocumented workers who slipped through the private contractor’s background checks. And there are countless stories of theft of both public and private property in schools that are using private contractors.
- Quality will suffer under a private contractor. Again, there are dozens of stories of private contractors like ServiceMaster, who have left schools filthy because their primary goal is to make money, not keep the schools clean.
- The savings that contractors promise rarely happen. School systems that have experimented with privatization have learned the hard way that the money they were supposed to save ended up having to get paid out anyway. Sometimes, the costs are higher once the contractor fails to deliver and other people have to be hired to clean up after them. Dr. Register has repeatedly claimed that the school district will save about $5 million a year if the district shifts over to privatization. And yet, he can’t prove it. He hasn’t done a cost-benefit analysis. He hasn’t factored in how hundreds of workers who will lose pay and health insurance will pay lower taxes to pay for our schools and how many will end up costing taxpayers when they end up in hospital emergency rooms without insurance. What makes matters worse is that, as WSMV reported, Register’s claim of saving $5 million was given to him by a contractor who was planning to bid on the job. What would we expect them to say?
The fight is not over, but it will be if you and your co-workers give up now.
Remember, SEIU has stopped privatization twice at Metro Water and twice at Social Services. The Union was able to do it because the workers took action and got their friends, their families, their preachers, and their clients to help the cause. You have to do that here or we are going to lose.
Keep those calls and emails going to the Metro Council and the School Board. Keep getting those petition signatures. When the Union asks you to come to a meeting or an event – do it. Don’t make excuses about your other job unless your other job is the one where you get benefits. Don’t make excuses about how “they’re going to do what they want anyway”... it's a cop-out. Nobody thought workers would stop privatization in those other departments, but they did. Nobody thought an African-American with a funny name would be become the President of the United States, but he did. Neither of those things happened because of luck or prayers – they happened because people decided to stand up and act.
Make sure you do too.