Posts tagged Custodians
Evergreen school employees strike as districts across the Northwest start heading back to class
August 27, 2025 // The union is asking for paraeducators to be paid for the full time they are at school, even if students need assistance after classes end. They’re also asking for release time to do union work, among other benefits. Union representatives said the district has so far been inflexible with their requests as well as bargaining dates.
SLPS employee unions demand a seat at the table regarding school consolidations
July 11, 2025 // “The No. 1 cause of injuries to the people 420 represents is breaking up fights,” Cummings said. “This is a safety issue … and I can't stand for my members to be put in that situation.” Cummings cited Article I, Section 29 of the Missouri Constitution, which states employees have a right to bargain collectively with their employer through a union representative of their choosing. Jane McWilliams-Sykes, a registered nurse who works at Dewey Elementary School, said nurses and medical staff within schools are critical for students’ safety and well-being. The end of next month will mark 40 years that she has worked as a nurse in the district, she said.
A Connecticut school district is giving bonuses to teachers who show up for work
March 10, 2025 // The program has won such favor among teachers that in the first two quarters of the year, the district has already spent the $126,000 budgeted for the program. The incentive program started in July, the district's director of human resources said. Director of Human Resources for the district Kimberly Schulte said the Board of Education started the union-approved attendance incentive in response to teacher absenteeism. She said that because of open positions, the district's $38 million salary budget can cover the rest of incentive program this year.
Connecticut: Another union complaint against Town of Branford dismissed
November 11, 2024 // The Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations dismissed yet another complaint made by the United Public Service Employees Union (UPSEU) against the Town of Branford. This is the third complaint this year. In September, the Board of Labor Relations dismissed a complaint that was filed by the UPSEU a year earlier. Three different units of the UPSEU-Branford—police workers, dispatchers and Water Pollution Control Authority employees—claimed that the Town of Branford violated the Municipal Employees Relations Act (MERA).
Syracuse University employees to hold public rally after voting against contract offer
August 26, 2024 // According to a spokesperson for the union, workers feel that management has not acknowledged the difficult work employees performed through COVID-19 to keep the university running. The four-year contract would have provided a 3%raise. When juxtaposed with the university's $1.85 billion endowment and the recent rise in total enrollment costs to $88,000 per year per student, union members felt it was an unfair proposal.
Disneyland workers reach tentative deal with company, averting strike
July 25, 2024 // The bargaining committee previously accused Disney of having "engaged in multiple instances of conduct we allege are unfair labor practices, including unlawful discipline and intimidation and surveillance of union members exercising their right to wear union buttons at work." The union buttons in question depict a Mickey Mouse-style white glove raised in a fist. (The company has insisted that costumes worn by cast members are "a critical part of enhancing the experience of our Disney show.")
Struggling to ‘bring food to our families,’ Olathe schools hourly workers want a union Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/education/article286587730.html#storylink=cpy
March 14, 2024 // Arellano was among more than 70 custodians, paraprofessionals and other hourly workers who packed Thursday’s school board meeting, wearing red, “Union Power” T-shirts. The group of employees, who are not certified so cannot join the teachers union, said they are organizing to form their own union, to advocate for better pay, respect and working conditions. If successful, it would be the first union of its kind in a Johnson County school district. Hourly workers have formed unions in other large Kansas districts, in Lawrence and Wichita. The union, Olathe School Workers United, would be a part of Communications Workers of America, Local 6400, which organized workers in the Lawrence district.
VIDEO: Union boss punched in the face after annoying siren deployed during protest
March 12, 2024 // A fight broke out on a picket line last week in front of a downtown federal office building when striking custodians accused a woman of punching a union leader. The altercation happened in front of a federal government office building at 630 Sansome St., where janitors employed there have been on strike since last week. The custodians, who are members of Service Employees International Union Local 87, said the skirmish took place around 7 p.m. on Wednesday after the woman, an employee who works in the building, came out and confronted the striking janitors for playing a loud siren from a bullhorn.
‘This is not normal’: Other unions within Portland Public Schools continue to negotiate for a new contract, weeks after teachers reached an agreement
December 12, 2023 // SEIU isn’t the only union still bargaining. Portland Federation of School Professionals (PFSP), which represents paraeducators and others, is also bargaining with Portland Public. Union members have twice rejected a tentative agreement. Since then, the union president has stepped down and two new bargaining members joined negotiations.
Three California State University unions reach labor agreements. What raises did they win?
October 13, 2023 // Starting Oct. 1, 2025, the union would move to a new 20-step merit system where salaries are determined based on the years of service an employee has completed. Each step up comes with a 2% raise. CSUEU staff indicated that each employee’s raise in the third year would vary greatly depending on how far behind their salary step they currently are. “This tentative agreement establishes an equitable salary structure with steps, which will help address the University’s recruitment and retention crisis,” wrote Catherine Hutchinson, CSUEU president, in a statement Thursday afternoon. “Pending ratification, we believe this agreement raises the bar and paves the way for our other union siblings across the system.”