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MEA Voice Today — April 23, 2008

Southfield school board fires 350 dedicated employees

MEA will continue to fight efforts to bust unions, privatize support staff
Despite the persistent efforts of MEA members both at and away from the bargaining table, the Southfield Board of Education voted 5-2 last night to fire more than 350 custodial, maintenance and transportation employees—and MEA members—and sell their services to private companies.

In a news release issued this morning, MEA vowed to closely monitor the school district and the out-of-state companies they contracted with, holding them all accountable to their promise that such a move would save money and improve education.

"The Southfield school board members said this decision was in the best interests of students—and we're going to hold them accountable for this decision," said MEA President Iris K. Salters in this morning's release. "Student test scores better improve, class sizes better get smaller, necessary classroom supplies better be provided. And, most of all, the district better actually save at least $6 million a year. If not, MEA will show the community how the school board lied when it made this decision."

The board's unconscionable action comes after a report released by the Great Lakes Center pointed to evidence that privatization does not necessarily save schools money or offer improvements in support services.

MEA will continue to fight these blatant attempts to bust unions, harm local communities and economies and threaten the education of public school students.

From the CMC President, Richard Green

Hello and welcome to the Custodial, Maintenance and Cafeteria website (CMC./MEA/NEA).

The CMC is a part of the Farmington/Farmington Hills community and has the responsibility to provide a clean, safe, and healthy environment for the students and staff of the Farmington Public School District. We currently have two hundred and six members in our unit and their dedication and pride in their work continue to make our District one of the Premier Districts in the State of Michigan. Our staff has experience ranging from recently hired to more than forty years and we continue to learn, grow, and expand on our abilities to perform and improve our function within the District. Through annual trainings, new product research and a cooperative relationship with the District Administrators combined with our interactions with the Community, parents, other staff and the students all help us to be more efficient at performing our job functions.

This staff understands that the education of our children is the first priority of any successful school district and we hope that through a continuing collaborative relationship with the parents and community we will be able to continue the necessary support to aid in providing that quality education to our children.

It is our sincere hope that you will find this website useful.

Sincerely,
Richard A. Green- President
Farmington C.M.C.-MEA/NEA

FPS Support Person of the Year

Farmington, Michigan — Farmington Public Schools announced on Tuesday, March 14, that Mary Perkins had been named the 2005-2006 Support Person of the Year for Farmington Public Schools.
Superintendent Sue Zurvalec surprised Mary at Flanders Elementary School, where she is the cafeteria manager. She has been an employee of the District for 26 1/2 years. Mary was selected by a committee composed of staff members, including eight past winners, and the presidents of the support staff unions. All employees other than administrators, teacher bargaining unit members and supervisors are eligible for nomination. Her nomination form states: "Mary is such a wonderful staff member. She is kind to everyone and always has nice things to say." Another staff member writes, "Her attitude and outlook on her job is the same today as it was the first day that she started." Included in the nomination packet were pages from each class at Flanders stating how much they supported the nomination of Mary for Support Person of the Year.

Last updated: 7/07/2008