SEIU Statement Regarding the Proposed School Budget

SEIU Local 205 President Doug Collier made the following statement at the MNPS Public Hearing on March 11 on behalf of the support staff that work in Metro Schools...

Mr. Chairman and School Board Members:

My name is Doug Collier. I am the President of SEIU Local Union 205 and a resident of Davidson County.

As you are aware, SEIU represents the Custodians and Groundskeepers in Metro Schools and we are strongly opposed to Dr. Register’s plan for a race to the bottom.

First, I’d like to point out that a large number of the workers being discussed here have been denied the opportunity to attend this Public Hearing. They are at work as we speak. I suggest another hearing be set on a Saturday and in a school auditorium where these folks can participate. After all, 700 workers and their families have the right to know how their wages and benefits are about to be slashed, and if they are to be offered poverty-level jobs. And yes, I as well as you, can look at the industry you’re about to privatize to and see that their history clearly demonstrates a role in furthering the plight of poverty for these workers.

I offer a solution to solve this problem, but before I do, I want this Board to know exactly who we are speaking of and just a little reminder of recent history.

Every year for the past several years this group of Custodians has been singled out for cuts and work load increases. Last year, 66 Custodians and 32 Campus Supervisors were laid off. These are real human beings and families - not just positions.
Out of the group of approximately 650 Custodians working for MNPS who get singled out time and time again, 88% are minorities and 78% are male. Today, a Custodian Helper begins at $9.97/hour. If they work hard and do all the right things required by the school system, after 12 years of employment, they would make $12.82. A Lead Custodian begins at $11.13/hour and would top out at $16.72 over 12 years. Please tell me what is wrong with this picture? National reports show that African-American men suffer an extremely higher rate of unemployment and under-employment than any other group. For the life of me, I cannot understand why that should be the case, particularly here in Nashville. The population in Davidson County is 79% white. We are touted as the “Healthcare capital of the U.S.”, the “Tourism Capital of the South”, and the “Country Music Capital of the World”. With all this, you’re telling the public of Davidson County the best we can do is to drive more minorities under the Federal poverty level. I do not believe this is the best we can do for Custodians, Groundskeepers, Bus Drivers, and the rest of the MNPS system.

Therefore, I propose the following:

Davidson County voters set the structure for tax increases just a few short years ago based upon a certain amount of flexibility. Within this flexibility, there is a range and a limit to which they were willing to go. They have in essence said, “beyond a set limit, you must come to us to get permission to raise property taxes”. We fully support and respect that notion, but let’s be clear – the city has not even come close to reaching that threshold where a referendum must go before the voters. To that end, we would like the School Board to submit a revised budget to the Mayor and the Council that meets the NEEDS you have identified, not the WANTS, and which stays within this agreed-upon property tax limits set by the voters. Those needs should include rewarding these crucial MNPS support employees for what they do and which do not single out minorities to make all the sacrifice.

I feel that I must remind you that for the last two years, every Metro Council member I’ve spoken to about the schools budget has stated, “we gave the Schools everything that they’ve asked for”. The Mayor’s office has repeatedly said in the last two years that the schools got a fully-funded budget. As a result, the School Board has had to take the rap for laying off workers. If this current proposal passes, the Board will end up taking the heat again for furthering the plight of minorities and Nashville’s working families.

I urge you to submit a real needs budget and then work with and support the Metro Council to establish the proper rate for funding.

Thank you.