With H.R., the Rules Are Made to Be Broken

By Teresa West, Chief Steward (MNPS Chapter)

The MNPS H.R. Department still seems to be using the good ole boy system when it comes to how they staff our public schools. You know—the system where positions are filled according to who you know or who you’re related to, not according to seniority or experience.

Even though there are specific rules in the Employee Handbook about filling positions, it seems like the rules were made to be broken by H.R. How else to explain the positions that were never posted? Or how qualified senior applicants were passed over for less senior, less qualified employees (one of whom is related to an MNPS manager high up on the food chain)?

To fight this, the Union filed a class-action grievance against the Metro School Board over a year ago. After moving through the process, an independent arbitrator ruled that H.R. violated policy by passing over a more qualified and experienced applicant. When the arbitrator’s findings were presented to Dr. Jesse Register, it was clear that the reviewer had seen that the support employee had not been treated fairly. Did Dr. Register do the right thing? No. Despite all logic and reason, Dr. Register refuses to follow the arbitrator’s ruling and hire the more qualified applicant.

In an effort to seek justice for the affected employees, SEIU sought a hearing from the School Board. We only wanted to be heard by a fair and open-minded Board. We were denied, but we are not quitters. We took our issue to the public hearing portion of the School Board Meeting on November 10th. Will we get a response from the Board Members? I don’t know, but I know we will not quit.

Stay tuned for what happens next. You may be asked to help us seek justice. We might need a public rally or better yet we might need to replace some current School Board Members with some who will listen to our concerns, not just seek us out when they need our votes.