Privatization News
‘Been there, done that, no thanks!’
Pinckney custodians saw their jobs privatized once before. Now they’re fighting to keep the school district from repeating the same mistake.
MEA organizing consultant Christina Canfield advises Pinckney custodians on how to fight privatization.
Their jobs threatened by privatization, custodians in Pinckney Community Schools are issuing a strong reminder to school board members and a new superintendent.
“Been there, done that, no thanks!”
That’s in reference to 1994 when the district privatized the custodians’ positions the first time.
“The private company ended up costing the district more money,” UniServ director Rondy Murray said. “There were charges the company failed to follow state regulations in some instances and finally the district ended the contract with the privateers—it was a mess.”
Pinckney custodians were hired back as school employees in 1997, but now the district is threatening to kick them to the curb again—in favor of another private company. The district requested bids from private companies on Jan. 31, and the school board is expected to decide the issue in April.
Gut-wrenching times
“This is a gut-wrenching time for our custodians, who have to live with the possibility of losing their jobs and having to move from a community where many have lived most of their lives, raised their families and have been active in the community,”Murray said.
She’s talking about custodians like Kevin Wilson who grew up in Pinckney, graduated from Pinckney High School and whose children attend Pinckney schools.
“I love it here,” said Wilson, the head custodian at Village Education Center. “This is not just a job—it’s part of my life. I feel it is important that our children are surrounded by people who live and work in our community and have a vested interest in the well-being of our children and the schools.”
Nancy Beattie, head custodian at Navigator School, said it’s important that students know and trust school employees.
“I have lived in Pinckney for 28 years. I have two daughters who graduated from Pinckney Community Schools, and I’m glad they had familiar school employees watching over them. I know I’ve had an impact on the lives of Pinckney students.”
Rallying community support
Custodians will use messages like these to rally community support against privatization.
Affiliated with MEA for less than a year, the custodians are trying to negotiate their first contract in the middle of this privatization crisis.
“The district believes it can save money by privatizing, and our bargaining team has given them three pages of ways to save money without privatizing,” Murray said.
“The superintendent thinks that privatization is the answer to all money problems,” MEA organizing consultant Christina Canfield said. “These custodians are really a good group of employees who’ve been through privatization once before. There’s no reason to believe privatization will work any better this time.”
Carl Schauer, a custodian at Hamburg Elementary School, whose children attended Pinckney schools and who now has two grandchildren in the system, calls the school his second home.
“The students are like my own children. The custodians are doing a really good job. I wish the district would stop picking on us.”