Nashua, NH- AFSCME Local 365 members won a decisive victory in Nashua on Election Day, playing a key role in electing a 6-3 pro-worker majority to the school board that
will hopefully spell final defeat for efforts to privatize school custodial services.
The election night win was the culmination of a more than two-year battle against a reckless outsourcing plan that would replace approximately 100 dedicated, professional school custodians with contract employees.
The union's fight began in September of 2015 when the board of education took a secret 8-1 vote in executive session to outsource the work, with former school board member Kim Kleiner the lone vote in opposition. The vote, held just days after the deadline for candidates to declare their candidacy for the school board, created an uproar in the city and left many believing it was timed to insulate the board members from voter backlash. But at the first public school board meeting after the secret vote, board members soon realized they were not going to be let off the hook. More than 200 custodians, teachers, students, and parents turned out to criticize the board and oppose privatization, starting one of the most remarkable and unified campaigns against privatization in the state.
In the weeks and months that followed, Local 365 members and Council 93 staff kept a regular presence at weekly school board meetings. Working together, they prepared an extensive list of the many duties and responsibilities of the custodians, which helped to shape the school district's Request for Proposal (RFP) bidding process and resulted in significantly higher minimum bids from private vendors. It also generated greater awareness of the value the workers provided to the school communities and a deeper appreciation for their work. A number of media, public relations, and legal strategies were employed including a court case based on violations of the union's collective bargaining agreement that ultimately worked its way up to the State Supreme Court. While the court eventually ruled against the union, the work of the Council 93 legal team, combined with the wide-range of other actions, served to delay a final vote by the board to award the contract to a private vendor.
"We're extremely proud of what our members and our Council accomplished in Nashua," said Council 93 Executive Director Frank Moroney. "The election night victory was critical, but if not for the perseverance and hard work of our members and staff over the past two years, these jobs would have been outsourced a long time ago. We fought hard and never gave up. That put us in a position to make a difference in this election and hopefully end this long ordeal. This has been very difficult on our members and we are looking forward to giving them some well-deserved peace of mind."
According to Local 365 Chapter Chair Donna Grady, getting politically involved and educating the public were the keys to success. The Local's first foray into electoral politics was during the November 2015 election. Since the board took the vote to privatize after the deadline for candidates to run for the school board, AFSCME worked with the Nashua Teachers Union to recruit a slate of write-in candidates. In less than two weeks' time, there was an extensive public education campaign that garnered 19,000 votes for five write-in candidates. Although it did not swing the majority, it was enough to get the attention of privatization proponents on the board and proved the union would be a force in the next election. The strength of the write-in campaign, combined with ongoing public and union pressure, led some board members to begin reconsidering their support for privatization. In June of 2016, a motion to abandon privatization and open contract negotiations with the custodians failed by just a 5-4 margin.
When the 2017 election season rolled around, the union was well prepared. Local 365 worked with the Council to thoroughly vet candidates and make formal endorsements. They then moved into an enthusiastic Get-Out-the-Vote campaign. On Election Day, fifty-seven members, more than half of the unit, joined Council 93 staff members at the polls educating the public on the candidates appearing on the ballot.
The union has come a long way however, custodian and Local 365 Chapter Chair Donna Grady cautions that there is still work to be done. "We had a positive outcome on Election Day, but the fight is far from over," she said. "In the coming weeks, it will be critical that we remain engaged with the board of education."
But despite the work that still lies ahead, Grady is encouraged and heartened by how much the public and decision-makers have learned about the value of the custodians. "Gone are the days when the custodian merely emptied the trash, swept the floors, and cleaned the bathrooms," she said. "We are part of the family known as the Nashua School District. Although we still clean the buildings, we also find ourselves interacting with the students, greeting them in the morning, repairing their broken zippers, and sitting with them at night until their parents pick them up. We work with the entire education community to ensure we help promote a positive learning environment for all of our students. Not only do we give them clean and safe havens to spend their days, but we are their protectors, mentors, and coaches. But most of all, we are their friends. We care about these students and will do everything we can to stop privatization and prevent strangers from taking over our buildings."
The election night win was the culmination of a more than two-year battle against a reckless outsourcing plan that would replace approximately 100 dedicated, professional school custodians with contract employees.
The union's fight began in September of 2015 when the board of education took a secret 8-1 vote in executive session to outsource the work, with former school board member Kim Kleiner the lone vote in opposition. The vote, held just days after the deadline for candidates to declare their candidacy for the school board, created an uproar in the city and left many believing it was timed to insulate the board members from voter backlash. But at the first public school board meeting after the secret vote, board members soon realized they were not going to be let off the hook. More than 200 custodians, teachers, students, and parents turned out to criticize the board and oppose privatization, starting one of the most remarkable and unified campaigns against privatization in the state.
In the weeks and months that followed, Local 365 members and Council 93 staff kept a regular presence at weekly school board meetings. Working together, they prepared an extensive list of the many duties and responsibilities of the custodians, which helped to shape the school district's Request for Proposal (RFP) bidding process and resulted in significantly higher minimum bids from private vendors. It also generated greater awareness of the value the workers provided to the school communities and a deeper appreciation for their work. A number of media, public relations, and legal strategies were employed including a court case based on violations of the union's collective bargaining agreement that ultimately worked its way up to the State Supreme Court. While the court eventually ruled against the union, the work of the Council 93 legal team, combined with the wide-range of other actions, served to delay a final vote by the board to award the contract to a private vendor.
"We're extremely proud of what our members and our Council accomplished in Nashua," said Council 93 Executive Director Frank Moroney. "The election night victory was critical, but if not for the perseverance and hard work of our members and staff over the past two years, these jobs would have been outsourced a long time ago. We fought hard and never gave up. That put us in a position to make a difference in this election and hopefully end this long ordeal. This has been very difficult on our members and we are looking forward to giving them some well-deserved peace of mind."
According to Local 365 Chapter Chair Donna Grady, getting politically involved and educating the public were the keys to success. The Local's first foray into electoral politics was during the November 2015 election. Since the board took the vote to privatize after the deadline for candidates to run for the school board, AFSCME worked with the Nashua Teachers Union to recruit a slate of write-in candidates. In less than two weeks' time, there was an extensive public education campaign that garnered 19,000 votes for five write-in candidates. Although it did not swing the majority, it was enough to get the attention of privatization proponents on the board and proved the union would be a force in the next election. The strength of the write-in campaign, combined with ongoing public and union pressure, led some board members to begin reconsidering their support for privatization. In June of 2016, a motion to abandon privatization and open contract negotiations with the custodians failed by just a 5-4 margin.
When the 2017 election season rolled around, the union was well prepared. Local 365 worked with the Council to thoroughly vet candidates and make formal endorsements. They then moved into an enthusiastic Get-Out-the-Vote campaign. On Election Day, fifty-seven members, more than half of the unit, joined Council 93 staff members at the polls educating the public on the candidates appearing on the ballot.
The union has come a long way however, custodian and Local 365 Chapter Chair Donna Grady cautions that there is still work to be done. "We had a positive outcome on Election Day, but the fight is far from over," she said. "In the coming weeks, it will be critical that we remain engaged with the board of education."
But despite the work that still lies ahead, Grady is encouraged and heartened by how much the public and decision-makers have learned about the value of the custodians. "Gone are the days when the custodian merely emptied the trash, swept the floors, and cleaned the bathrooms," she said. "We are part of the family known as the Nashua School District. Although we still clean the buildings, we also find ourselves interacting with the students, greeting them in the morning, repairing their broken zippers, and sitting with them at night until their parents pick them up. We work with the entire education community to ensure we help promote a positive learning environment for all of our students. Not only do we give them clean and safe havens to spend their days, but we are their protectors, mentors, and coaches. But most of all, we are their friends. We care about these students and will do everything we can to stop privatization and prevent strangers from taking over our buildings."