USA: School custodians must keep their jobs – no to privatisation!
At Nashua in the state of New Hampshire, USA, in September 2015, the Board of Education voted 7-1 to end its contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents the Nashua custodial workers (janitors). The board said they are looking to hire a private cleaning company instead.
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The Board voted to fire 101 custodians in a cost-cutting move, and now AFSCME activists are demanding that Nashua school officials reverse the decision.
Jim Durkin, legislative director for AFSCME, said the union custodians deserve to keep their jobs.
“These contract vendors are basically a cleaning crew,” Durkin said. “They pay very low wages, no benefits, and as result there’s extremely high turnover. You contrast that with men and women who have been doing these jobs for 10, 20, even 30 years. They’re part of the fiber of the school community.”
An online petition demanding the board reverse its decision gathered more than 1,000 signatures.