15 Custodians Laid Off

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by Melissa Bailey | Jul 2, 2012 12:40 pm

(25) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Labor, Recession, Schools

Melissa Bailey Photo (Updated Monday 9:50 p.m. with new disciplinary information.) As planned, the school district has let go 15 custodians as part of a shift toward privatization—with an unexpected wrinkle: Instead of cutting jobs based on seniority, managers were allowed to “pick and choose” who would go.

The school board last week approved the layoffs of the 15 full-time, unionized custodians, effective last Friday.

The move was part of a planned downsizing as the city shifted towards privatizing a third of the workers who clean city schools.

The 15 custodians, some of whom had worked for as many as 17 years, saw the writing on the wall in December, when they were demoted to “temporary floaters.” The job cuts came due to an arbitration decision handed down to the city after custodians in AFSCME Council 4 Local 287 rejected a labor contract their union leaders had hatched with the city. The decision allowed the city to cut the workforce from 154 to 100 by July 1 and hire private workers to take previously unionized jobs.

As they prepared for unemployment Friday, several workers decried the way they were let go—based in part on sick time and discipline, not just on years on the job.

Leon Davis (pictured above), a Dwight homeowner who spent 17 years on the custodial workforce, said the process took him by surprise.

“We didn’t have a problem with laying off people,” Davis said. “It’s the way they laid them off.”

William Jackson, who grew up in New Haven and lives in Hamden, got laid off after 16 years on the job.

“I never thought this would happen, especially with me and all the seniority I have,” he said. “We just thought it would go last one hired, first one to go—but it didn’t go that way.” Other workers with fewer years on the job were allowed to stay.

Workers claim their union and city went “behind our backs” to scrap seniority and allow management to get rid of higher-paid workers, undercutting the civil service process by which workers were originally hired.

“They circumvented civil service so they could basically pick and choose,” said one custodian who retained his job. He declined to give his name for fear of retribution.

City and union officials both maintained the layoffs took place according to the arbitrator-sanctioned process.

The layoffs are “directly related to the arbitration award, and we are simply following the provisions,” said schools Chief Operating Officer Will Clark. “We have met with and communicated with the union leadership on each step of the award implementation.”

Larry Dorman, spokesman for AFSCME Council 4, agreed.

“Last summer, Local 287 members voted to reject a tentative agreement, which triggered the binding arbitration award that allows the Board of Education to reduce the unionized custodial workforce to 100,” said Dorman in an emailed statement. He noted that the union saved 100 jobs from being outsourced.

“While we never want to see any worker laid off anywhere, the hard work and commitment of AFSCME Local 287 leadership stopped wholesale privatization and prevented an economic calamity from taking place in New Haven,” Dorman said.

City spokeswoman Elizabeth Benton said management worked with labor to determine who got laid off. Those who were laid off “did not meet the essential functions of the job and were not rehired” to their original jobs.

“In every case,” she said, “these were joint labor-management decisions.”

Several workers said their union didn’t prepare them for the way the layoffs unfolded.

The Interview

Davis, who’s 49, said he spent 15 years at the top level in his union, as head custodian at King/Robinson school. He made $21 per hour. When the arbitration award came down, he saw his fate take a turn.

According to the arbitration award, all workers had to re-bid for their jobs. That was a surprise to some workers. They were called in for interviews with AFB Facilities Management, the private company that manages custodians on behalf of the school district. In a letter to employees, AFB said workers were judged based on three factors: sick time, disciplinary history and performance in the interview.

Davis said his interview last December was brief, less than 10 minutes. He believes he sailed through the questions—such as, “what’s the first thing you do when you get to school in the morning?”—which were so easy his daughter could answer them.

He had a clean record, he said. However, last December he was suspended for two days without pay on an allegation of stealing floor tiles. (Click here to read his disciplinary letter.)

But he had called in sick 23 days in the previous year.

Davis said the 23 days weren’t because of a certain illness—they just “accumulated over time.”

After the interview, he got a letter notifying him of “non-qualification for new custodial positions.” He was given two options: Take a $20,000 buyout or stay on the force, demoted from head custodian to “temporary floater.” He chose to keep working, taking a pay cut from $21 to $19 per hour.

Those “temporary floaters” fell into a bottom tier of workers who would then be targeted first for layoffs.

Davis said he was never told why he didn’t make the cut.

Sick Time

His story fits a pattern of several workers interviewed: They had called in sick a lot.

Sick time was a major factor in the city’s quest to privatize the custodial workforce. On any given day, 25 percent of custodians would be absent “because of contractual work rules which promote abuse of sick time and excessive call-outs,” mayoral Chief of Staff Sean Matteson has said. The arrangement was costly because the city had to hire part-time workers to cover those shifts. In a comment to the Independent, Matteson put the blame on “a set of work rules which foster these types of abuses.”

Workers interviewed said they never broke any policy. Custodians accrued sick days according to how many days they worked.

“I never took a sick day that I didn’t have,” said William Jackson.

Jackson said he took 22 sick days last year. “A lot of it had to do with my wife. She was out of work for three months,” he said.

Rafael Crespo (pictured), who’s 54, said he took 35 sick days over the course of two years—the main factor that he said lost him his job as a head custodian. He said the sick time came due to a shoulder injury he sustained on the job.

Crespo, who lives in the Hill, has been a New Haven school custodian for 13 years. He was demoted to “temporary floater” like Davis, Jackson and the rest of the men laid off last week. He said the demotion knocked down his salary by $10,000.

Crespo said he was told that his sick time cost him his job. He and others maintained they never broke the rules.

“We never had a sick policy that if you take this many sick days you get in trouble,” William Jackson explained. He said his disciplinary record was clean.

There was “no sick policy in the contract,” he said, “so how could you use that against me?”

“Giving Up Our Rights”

After spending six months as “temporary floaters,” workers were notified of their pending layoffs in a meeting on June 21. They were given an option to take two weeks’ severance pay and another month of medical coverage—if they signed an agreement not to sue the city.

Jackson, Crespo and Davis all refused to sign.

“You’re giving away your rights to due process,” Jackson said.

Davis said he has already filed a complaint with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities over the way he was let go.

Crespo said he has a pending workman’s compensation complaint, and is considering filing a discrimination lawsuit against the city.

The kicker, he said, was when he discovered the Board of Ed posted a job opening calling for applicants to a new job—custodian “floater.” The job was posted on June 11.

That’s the same job Crespo and his coworkers held.

“How can you be laying people off if you’re hiring back for the same position?” asked Crespo in an interview in his Greenwich Avenue home.

“They’re not hiring right now,” city spokeswoman Elizabeth Benton later clarified. She said the city is “developing a list” of qualified candidates to maintain the custodial workforce at 100 people. The city will interview new applicants, and offer them the civil service test, so that “in case there’s openings, we’re ready to go.”

Crespo and Co. aren’t excluded from these jobs, Benton said: “There’s nothing stopping these individuals from reapplying through that process.” Unlike laid-off workers in other situations, these custodians are not on “recall,” so they won’t get priority over other applicants.

Union spokesman Dorman said the union did its best to protect workers against the privatization push.

“In the end, we maintained collective bargaining rights for the workers we represent while negotiating an early retirement incentive that spared many employees from being thrown onto the street with no safety net,” he said. The city offered a retirement package for workers, depending on the number of years served.

Crespo said he turned down the golden handshake the city offered because he fell in an “in-between” category, between 10 and 20 years on the job, where the offer wasn’t that lucrative.

After a decade and a half on the job, workers are now looking at an uncertain future.

Crespo said he and his wife, who’s unemployed, are trying to raise a 3-year-old son. Meanwhile, he’s making $2,000-a-month mortgage payments to support a daughter and grandchildren on the first floor of his two-family home.

“I’m in danger of losing my house,” he said. “I’m going to have to get back on my feet as soon as possible.”

Comments

posted by: gamechanger on July 2, 2012 1:14pm

Its very sad, that city government is outsourcing jobs, that are currently filled by city residents, to other nationalities, at a lesser cost. Yet they (The Mayor) expects the same people to afford the high city taxes issued by this city.

The city was determined to find a way to get the highest paid custodians out so (Big John) could continue, infiltrating the city with illegal workers.

For those who were laid off, and in need of immediate employment. The Town of Wallingford has several positions open for school custodians, at your current salary, with shift differential.

While you are seeking employment, also seek to move out of New Haven all together. That will be 15 less tax bills Big John can send out.

posted by: robn on July 2, 2012 1:15pm

The article isn’t very clear about whether the policy treats sick time as just sick time of elective personal time but nevertheless, assuming the sick time is valid, it shouldn’t be a criteria for dismissal.

BTW, one year ago yesterday, Gov Malloy signed a paid sick day mandate…in businesses with 50 or more employees, workers get up to 40 hours/yr paid sick time to recover from illness, seek preventive care, care for a sick child, or seek assistance related to family violence, sexual assault, or violence.

posted by: ranover on July 2, 2012 1:37pm

There is no doubt that the City and even the union set this whole system up. They knew before the interview’s who was going to get what job title. if they were basing on displicine and sick days then i really got shafted. 10 yrs called out 9 days no write ups. People less than me 3 or 4 yrs got building manager jobs. What goes around comes around. There is no place that I ever heard that people with over 15 yrs get laid off before people with less years no matter what your job title is. I hope one of those 15 laid off really pull off a lawsuit. One more thing , how come we haven’t seen any articles about the AFB Supervisor who supposely was fired. Are they sweeping that underneath the rug like everything else.

posted by: Tommy Hobbes on July 2, 2012 3:19pm

The moral of the story is that just because you have a lot of something, that doesn’t mean you should use it a lot. Personally, I get 4 days per calendar year and I use 1-2 of those days. Every time someone calls out it creates overtime and the tax payers have to bear the burden.

posted by: SaveOurCity on July 2, 2012 3:42pm

It seems like this should be the norm - if layoffs are needed within an under-performing group, then the under-performing individuals should be the first let go. This is how a fair system that is looking to best use taxpayer dollars ought to operate. Personally, I hope that we can see more stories like this in the future.

posted by: ranover on July 2, 2012 4:08pm

To save our city - Why don’t you take a walk through Hillhouse and Cross one day and see how clean supposedly it is by the part time group. How can you judge an custodian performance in 10 minutes . I hope someday no one close to you loses their job or gets shafted by the system because they supposely under perform.

posted by: Wildwest on July 2, 2012 4:18pm

while I agree with SaveOurCity I would feel bad if I found out that a few of them took those sick days to care for a sick child/family member and who otherwise had great on the job records.

Other than that I’m happy to see more union jobs being replaced with non union jobs. Unions have taken it too far, people should always have the right to organize but this idea of perpetual unions ddoesn’thelp in the long run.

posted by: Curious on July 2, 2012 4:42pm

NHI is missing a huge component of the issue here.

How much vacation time did these employees get?

If they got separate sick and vacay time, but used sick time like it was PTO or vacay, then I support this firing selection 100%. If they were allowed to use sick time however they want, then it’s a little messed up.

posted by: Threefifths on July 2, 2012 4:50pm

posted by: MikeM on July 2, 2012 4:18pm

while I agree with SaveOurCity I would feel bad if I found out that a few of them took those sick days to care for a sick child/family member and who otherwise had great on the job records.

This is what happens in Non-Union jobs.Would you work here.

Revealed: Inside the Chinese suicide sweatshop where workers toil in 34-hour shifts to make your iPod

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1285980/Revealed-Inside-Chinese-suicide-sweatshop-workers-toil-34-hour-shifts-make-iPod.html

posted by: ranover on July 2, 2012 5:48pm

This goes to Larry Dorman. Don’t give me this crap that you guys saved 100 jobs. The union board got together and went through the list and the in crowd got the good jobs. If anyone can’t see the writing on the wall were all done after rhis cintact if not sooner. The union sold us out and it will come back to burn all of us. That’s what are $ 40 a month goes to now. NOTHING.

posted by: Brutus2011 on July 2, 2012 6:01pm

The city (in this case NHPS) has to at least appear to try to balance its budget.
I am not sure outsourcing custodial jobs is an efficient method—40K per year for top earners?
Why not rein in the number of higher paid NHPS employees who earn 4 times that?

Too much municipal politics here. We may need a fresh and different city administration.

And, there seems to be an unsightly blurring of the roles of worker union management and city officials.

As far as I can tell, the only employee bargaining unit that is successful in obtaining truly favorable contracts for its people is the NHPS administrator’s union—representing the highest paid individuals (120K+) in our public school district.

Yet the city cuts those who make 1/4 of that to effect cost savings?

posted by: JohnTulin on July 2, 2012 6:22pm

Unions have not gone too far, they have not gone far enough. They need to push for sick days, due process, seniority, etc - while ALSO educating their workers! Maybe if, instead of back room dealing, their union took a more active role in coaching these men about the new culture in New Haven, they would have scaled back the sick days. A union is only as powerful as their members are informed and active

posted by: Wildwest on July 2, 2012 8:19pm

sorry, not done.

3/5ths- who buys all the i-pods and I-pads and I-macs? who stands in line for 2 days to get them, liberals or republicans???

posted by: downtown dweller on July 2, 2012 10:23pm

If it’s true that 25% of the workforce were off sick at any one time, then it seems that the sick day policy was being abused. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for municipal workers to take days off when they’re not actually sick. I feel sorry for those who have lost their jobs, but am happy that the town has cracked down on abuse of the union contract.

@ Threefifths: an article about a factory in China has, of course, absolutely nothing to do with a discussion on the relative merits of unionism and non-unionism in Connecticut.

posted by: Threefifths on July 2, 2012 10:33pm

posted by: MikeM on July 2, 2012 8:19pm

sorry, not done.

3/5ths- who buys all the i-pods and I-pads and I-macs? who stands in line for 2 days to get them, liberals or republicans???

Both.Now answer this question.Who won the right to get these benfits. Workers compensation Family medical leave act 40 hr work week.Paid vacation days unemployment insurance Paid sick days.Liberals or Reublicans Unions or Non Unions.

posted by: new havener on July 2, 2012 10:43pm

this is whining near its finest.

yes, malloy and the unions pushed through a ‘sick time’ bill for 40 hours…thats FIVE days worth…the custodians were taking 20 to 35+ days a year…unreal.

last I looked, sick time was for…uh, hmmm…oh yeah—-when you are sick! no grown man is sick 20 to 35 times a year, and all between monday to friday…yeesh!

a custodian took sick time for a work-related shoulder injury? in the real world, that time, especially in Connecticut, falls under workmen’s compensation. his story holds little water.

another custodian took time to care for a sick relative? in the USA, that falls under Family Medical Leave Act(FMLA), and in Connecticut, the FMLA laws, which allows care for a sick relative like a spouse, are even stronger. you can’t be disciplined for FMLA time. no mention was made of FMLA, so it stands to reason the excuse is not valid.

call it for what it is—-abuse. we’ve all read for years now that City of New Haven was going to do away with a group of custodians that on average were not at work 25% of the time. the custodians failed at their responsibility to work, especially when warned that attendance was an issue, and more importantly, their union failed to reign this rag-tag outfit in. now the same union is is going to fight for them? when they already lost a significant arbitration award?

i’m sorry, but this is one New Haven seems to have gotten right.

posted by: Threefifths on July 3, 2012 8:42am

posted by: new havener on July 2, 2012 10:43pm

I love you union haters.

this is whining near its finest.

yes, malloy and the unions pushed through a ‘sick time’ bill for 40 hours…thats FIVE days worth…the custodians were taking 20 to 35+ days a year…unreal.

last I looked, sick time was for…uh, hmmm…oh yeah—-when you are sick! no grown man is sick 20 to 35 times a year, and all between monday to friday…yeesh

How do you know what the person medical condition? Are you there doctor.

a custodian took sick time for a work-related shoulder injury? in the real world, that time, especially in Connecticut, falls under workmen’s compensation. his story holds little water.

How do you know if Management don’t clam that his injury didn;t happen on the job or if workmen’s compensation denied him his case.

You need to read the law on FMLA sir.

Wages & Benefits

Employers are not required to pay wages during FMLA leave periods and may also require workers to exhaust days allocated for paid vacation time and sick leave before granting FMLA-related leave.

How do yo know if he didn’t use paid vacation time and sick leave first.

call it for what it is—-abuse

Sorry sir.They must bring in medical documention sign by the doctor.

posted by: Jacques Strap on July 3, 2012 9:15am

I’m a teacher and can vouch for how hard our custodians work.

Truth is they work alone, in a pair or, if they’re lucky, have a staff of three to tackle a pre-K to 8 building with a gym, library, and cafe.

Throw in many kids who just don’t care and litter, destroy school property and write on walls and, well, custodians have to pick their battles.

And to those who claim “my school is filthy”: Set a life skills example for your students and clean up after yourself!

posted by: tj on July 3, 2012 9:24am

did you guys not see the writing on the walls…..good luck in your job searches

posted by: Jacques Strap on July 3, 2012 9:42am

Sick time is tricky in the education field because kids are involved, and kids aren’t always the most health-conscious species!

Some abuse sick time for selfish reasons. (These people ruin it for those who are legitimately ill and need the time.)

Some use it out of necessity, a mental break of sorts for those who work in the city’s toughest schools and receive little support from administration (despite what any SIP or behavior plan document might state).

Others are legitimately sick.

NHPS provide 15 sick days to teachers per school year. The idea isn’t to use them all, but they are there in case they’re necessary. Doctors notes are required for three or more consecutive sick days.

posted by: Mom of 5 year old on July 4, 2012 1:07pm

I worked in the private sector for 15 years before I became a stay home mom. In the private sector, I got 5 sick days a year. Vacation time started at 2 weeks and went up by 1 week at intervals and by 15 years, I earned 4 weeks vacation. Back to the sick policy, we got 5 days a year….and you were expected to NOT take all 5 days in the course of one year. And if you did take all 5 days in one year, you were brought into an office and told you had no more sick days left and basically you’re next call out better be from a hospital or a morgue. That’s the way the real world works, not the fake world of the unions who whine when something as reasonable as sick day abuse is treated appropriately. And 25 or 35 days out in a year is abuse by anyone’s definition of the word. An injury should be treated as a short term disability - 5 consecutive days out then turns into disability leave. I know there are excellent custodians in the schools, I also know there are those that watch baseball or basketball games on the clock. If the school is blessed with a good one(s), those custodians are worth more than gold. But make no mistake, there are bad apples too.

posted by: Threefifths on July 4, 2012 2:21pm

posted by: Mom of 5 year old on July 4, 2012 1:07pm

And do you know how you got those sick days and Vaction time.Unions!!!!! Do you know how you got your 40hr work week.Unions!!! It was called the haymarket riots or Eight hour day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-hour_day

Back to the sick policy, we got 5 days a year….and you were expected to NOT take all 5 days in the course of one year. And if you did take all 5 days in one year, you were brought into an office and told you had no more sick days left and basically you’re next call out better be from a hospital or a morgue. That’s the way the real world works, not the fake world of the unions who whine when something as reasonable as sick day abuse is treated appropriately.

My quetion to you is How do you or anyone tell if a person is abusing sick time.Once they bring a doctors note case closed.look at the court case that the unions won in BRUSSELS.Did you know that Europe’s highest court ruled that workers who happened to get sick on vacation were legally entitled to take another vacation.And this is the private sector.

On Vacation and Sick? A Court Says Take Another

By PAUL GEITNER

Published: June 21,

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/world/europe/europe-court-says-sick-workers-can-retake-vacations.html?_r=1

An injury should be treated as a short term disability - 5 consecutive days out then turns into disability leave.

They have this already.It is call the Family and Medical Leave Act.It was won by the unions who you said whine. How come when you was in the private sector for 15 years you didn’t form a union.Then you would have got the same benfits. I got a union you can join for stay at home moms. Don’t set us back half a century! Give stay-at-home moms credit. And you can thank the private sector for doing this.

http://www.change.org/petitions/don-t-set-us-back-half-a-century-give-stay-at-home-moms-credit

posted by: moegard on July 6, 2012 11:29am

The conservative agenda to drive the wedge deeper between private sector workeres and unions is working beautifully. Unions and their workers are not the enemy of other workers. There are abuses of sick time and other policies by workers (unionized and not), yes. But there are far more abuses of workers by management. Read your history. Remember how short a time has passed since there were NO rights for workers. Don’t begrudge union workers good benefits just because you don’t have them!

posted by: new havener on July 6, 2012 12:14pm

“Don’t begrudge union workers good benefits just because you don’t have them!”

I don’t think anyone begrudges union workers having good benefits, the problem is when the benefits cost all of us taxpayers, and we have no say in the contracts. It has a great probability of getting worse, now that the board of alderman are controlled by unions.

The line going around seems to make good sense “The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of the other guy’s money”. We taxpayers were paying foolhardy money(taxes) for custodians that were not doing their job.

posted by: Threefifths on July 6, 2012 3:16pm

posted by: new haven on July 6, 2012 12:14pm

I don’t think anyone begrudges union workers having good benefits, the problem is when the benefits cost all of us taxpayers.The line going around seems to make good sense “The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of the other guy’s money”. We taxpayers were paying foolhardy money(taxes) for custodians that were not doing their job.

First of all uniuon workers pay taxes to.Second you talk about benfits that union workers get and what it cost the taxpayers.How come you don’t talk about the taxpayer benfits that the president of the united states get when they leave office.Did you know about the The Former Presidents Act of 1958, which established a pension for former presidents, was designed to help retired Chief Executives make a “dignified transition” to private life.Did you also know that The yearly pension for ex-presidents is pegged to the salary of a Cabinet-level official, which is currently $161,200. The pension begins immediately upon leaving office, regardless of how old the president is or how long he has served. Since Cabinet officials’ salaries are constantly being ratcheted up for cost-of-living adjustments, the ex-president’s pension also increases regularly. Did you know that former presidents receive expenses to maintain an office anywhere in the United States, for which the General Services Administration (GSA) must pay. They are free to use this taxpayer-funded office for whatever they wish. sounds like a a burden on us taxpayers.Check this out.Did you also know that Former presidents, are entitled to 10 years of Secret Service protection round-the-clock security.I wonder how much of out tax dollars are this costing us.Also Retired Congressmen now collect pension benefits that are two to three times more generous than those offered in the private sector for similarly-salaried executives.All paid for by us Taxpayers.Yet I can’t hear any of you union haters open your mouth about this.I will say it again If you want the same benfits form a union on your job.

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