CRANSTON SCHOOL CUSTODIANS

1. CRANSTON SCHOOL CUSTODIANS LOYAL AND DEDICATED EMPLOYEES Submitted to the Cranston School Committee October 6, 2011

2. KEEPYour Loyaland Dedicated Custodians

3. Privatization… • Does not protect our City or our children. • There has been no independent audit of the feasibility of privatizing custodial services, providing the pros and cons of doing so. • Provides no job guarantees for long standing employees, who by a large percentage are also City of Cranston taxpayers and family income earners.

4. The RFP vs. the Bids • The School Department requested bids for Custodial Services including a myriad of duties now being performed by the loyal Cranston Custodians. • However, the bidsONLY address the cleaning aspect inside school buildings, and some snowplowing. • The bids by these private for profit companies did not give a breakdown of what the costs would be.

5. One Example • SNOWPLOWING Although the bids varied, an example of the cost for snowplowing for 1 year is approximately $72,162.56, or $9,020.32 per storm. Again, we ask, Where is the Breakdown? • Are there any extra costs based on the number of inches of snowfall? • How many storms does this price cover? What if there are more? • What about multiple nights of sanding and salting?

6. The Bids vs. the RFP • Why did the bids by these companies not break down the costs? • The terms of the contract are to be negotiated after the bid is awarded and signed? This isTOO LATE! • Why did some companies not comply with the specific terms of the RFP? For example: Full-time employees vs. 10-month employees.

7. Taxpayers and Parents At Risk • What are the additional costs for services not specifically spelled out in the bids? • There will be additional costs for the subcontracting of in-house duties presently being performed by Cranston Custodians. • Parents will have no control over who is in the schools with their children.

8. Who Are The Companies Trying To Profit At The Expense of the Taxpayers? • All 5 companies are for profit; they are not concerned about their employees or the students, just the profit. • Here is a closer look at 2 of the companies that want to work in the buildings where our children attend school.

9. GCA Service Group Who Are They? • Out-of-State HQ based in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. • Annual Revenue in excess of 625 million dollars. • GCA has a reputation of putting Profit first, Employees and Students last.

10. GCA Who They Really Are • Immigration Raid catches 36 at Cree • The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina) October 15, 2005 • “The sweep at Cree netted unauthorized immigrants from Kenya, Gambia, Congo, Togo, Israel, Pakistan, Venezuela, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. All but 10 of those arrested were employed by a maintenance and cafeteria source subcontractor GCA Service Group”. • IS THIS AN EXAMPLE OF THE KIND OF EMPLOYEES OUR CHILDREN WILL BE EXPOSED TO?

11. GCA Who They Really Are • Registered Sex Offender Found Dead in Texas School. • www.Blogspot.com October 3, 2007 • Rhome Texas custodian found dead inside a boys locker room. He died from autoerotic asphyxiation which occurs during an act of self gratification. The deceased lied about his identity and was a registered sex offender. He was employed by GCA Service Group.

12. GCA Who They Really Are • Teamsters Probe Reveals Possible Issues With Outsourcing Collier School Custodians. • www.marconews.com May 29, 2008. • The Teamsters hired Coral Cables Bolton Investigations Inc. to investigate safety and security issues as they relate to previous operations and employment practices of GCA Service Group.

13. GCA Who They Really Are The probe found 3 Incidents between October 31, 2006 and April 2008: • A GCA Service Employee working at Huntingdon High School Tenn. was a accused of raping a 16 year old student. Defendant had a criminal record. • Stolen school electronic equipment was recovered from home of a La Coste (Texas) Elementary School custodian. Defendant had a criminal record for burglary. • The Rhome Texas case referred to previously.

14. GCA Who They Really Are • GCA is offering poverty wage salaries to the employees: A $9.30 hourly wage. • Healthcare: Symetra Health Plan requires a 40%employee contribution.(GCA’s bid states the healthcare provided by the company was not in the bid price.) • $9.30 x 40 hours = $372.00/week before taxes. Annual Salary = $19,344. • Deduct 40% co-pay for healthcare. Using conservative cost of $10,000 for family plan, healthcare would cost the employee $4,000. • $19,344 - $4,000 =$15,344 before taxes or other expenses. CAN ANYONE TRULY SUPPORT A FAMILY WITH THIS SALARY?

15. Sodexo Who They Really Are • 8 billion dollar Company • Out-of-State HQ is in Altamonte Spring, Florida • OSHA fines New Jersey School Contractor Sodexo for Serious Safety Hazards. • www.prnewswire.com OSHA fined Sodexo, one of the State’s largest school contractors, for 9 serious safety hazards that endangered workers and could have harmed students in the South Plainfield School District. OSHA cited: Failure to provide adequate training and protective equipment, failure to inform when using dangerous chemicals, the unsafe storage of flammable and combustible liquids, failure to guard live parts of electronic equipment, and requiring workers to operate industrial trucks without testing their ability to safely do so.

16. Sodexo Who They Really Are • With Sodexo Complaints On File, Some Question FWCS choice. • www.indianasnewscenter.com June 2, 2010 • There are serious concerns from current Fort Wayne Community Schools custodians about the company the system is making a deal to outsource with. Claims have been made that there have been problems with Sodexo that include inadequate staffing, buildings not left properly secured, kickbacks to the company, and meal counting errors.

17. Sodexo Who They Really Are • Attorney General Cuomo Announces $20 Million Settlement With Food Service Company For Overcharging New York Schools. • www.ag.ny.gov/media center July 21,2010 • Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced today a $20 million dollar settlement with food service provider Sodexo for overcharging 21 New York school districts as well as the SUNY system. The Attorney General’s investigation found that the company promised to provide goods at cost but failed to acknowledge rebates from suppliers, resulting in illegal overcharges to the schools. The settlement was unsealed in Federal Court in Massachusetts and is the largest monetary settlement under the Act that does not involve Medicare funds.

18. Sodexo Who They Really Are • Students Shower Sodexo with Complaints at Town Hall. Students outraged by Sodexo health violations. • www.theramonline.com/news April 13, 2011 • Recent health code violations at four Sodexo-run dining facilities sparked outrage among the Fordham community, culminating in a Town hall meeting Monday night. • Over 200 students and a handful of faculty showed up to raise grievances over the presence of vermin in dining facilities, lack of transparency with health code reports and cost of meals. • Many students expressed alarm at the results of March 21 health inspections, which exposed the presence of mouse feces, roaches, and improper storage of food. One student was quoted as saying, “Basically, I just paid $5,000 to eat rat food.”

19. Cranston School Custodians Who They Really Are • Hard working employees who are dedicated to their mission. • Family members and the main source of income for their family. • The average employee has between 15 to 25 years of loyal service with the Cranston School District. • 56% percent live in Cranston and are Cranston taxpayers. • They are personally involved in the community.

20. Cranston School Custodians Who They Really Are Their salaries are modest: • 2011 Salary Schedule for Custodians: Step 1……………………$14.23 Step 2……………………$14.82 Step 3……………………$15.37 Step 4……………………$15.86 Step 5……………………$16.46 Step 6……………………$16.99 Step 7……………………$17.30 Step 8……………………$17.61 Step 9…………………...$17.92 $17.92 x 40 hours = $716.80 per week, or $37,273.60 per year. This salary is lower depending on which step the custodian is receiving.

21. Cranston School Department Custodian Contract a ‘Compromise’The Providence Journal Friday, January 23, 2009 School Department custodians and maintenance workers will go without raises for two years and they will also pay a larger share of their health insurance premiumsunder a three-year contract approved Tuesday. In exchange, the School Committee is hiring back three full-time and two part-time employees who were laid off. Both sides called the contract a compromise, one that saves money and puts people back to work. […]The contract will reduce costs by $110,725 over three years, even with the raises in year three and the rehiring of the employees who were laid off, according to a fiscal impact statement presented to the School Committee. […] School Committee members approved the contract in a unanimous vote, saying the union had stepped up and offered concessions at an important time. “It’s about coexisting,” said School Committee Chairman Michael A. Traficante. […]

22. Cranston School Custodians Who They Really Are • Conscientious, loyal, hard working. • Take pride in their respective buildings. • Are called upon to assist with much more than just cleaning. Making daily deliveries.

23. Additional Duties Regularly Performed By Cranston Custodians • Landscaping - Including but not limited to tree cutting, trimming trees and bushes, blowing sand from school yards, mulching beds, and filling of potholes. • Snow Removal - Consists of cleaning all walkways, yards and walks, removal of snow using a tractor, snowplowing, cleaning roof drains, removing ice and snow from roof drains. • Hazardous Waste - Removal of asbestos floors, pipe wrap repairs and replacement, removal of bio-waste and other hazardous materials from schools.

24. Additional Duties Regularly Performed By Cranston Custodians • Painting – Including classrooms, stairways, ceilings, doors, and bathrooms. • Power Washing and Sand Blasting - Removal of graffiti throughout the year. • Heavy Lifting - Such as copy machines from floor to floor, hot water heaters from boiler rooms or custodian closets, file cabinets, teacher desks, and any other lifting that is needed. • Deliveries - From school to school, and transportation of teachers’ materials after jamboree.

25. Additional Duties Regularly Performed By Cranston Custodians • Security - Secure all buildings at night, 24/7 emergency call back, and security of all schools. • Repairs - Such as fences, replacement of guard rails, windows, lockers, desk and chairs, and minor carpentry work. • Pool - Cleaning and maintenance of the pool at Park View School. • State Food Warehouse - Pickup and delivery of food to prep kitchens, and delivery of lunches to elementary schools.

26. Additional Duties Regularly Performed By Cranston Custodians • Work With Trades People - Help replace belts, filters, door locks, lights, cementing poles and putting in bike racks, drain cleaning, drilling holes for pipes, putting up signs, electrical assistance. • Trash Removal - From tot park (formerly a Parks and Recreation job), pick up trash from students parking lot and inside and outside of all buildings. • Supplies - Take school supplies off vendor’s truck and deliver supplies to schools.

27. Additional Duties Regularly Performed By Cranston Custodians • Equipment Repair – Including tractors, lawnmowers, and snow blowers. • Unloading Trucks - Including lunch tables. • Filters - Change filters in machines for teachers who have a 504. • This list, although comprehensive, is not all inclusive. Many of the duties stated above create savings for the School Department that were not addressed in the bids by the private companies.

28. Cranston School Custodians Who They Really Are At Woodridge Elementary School, the Fifth Grade Class dedicated their yearbook to their custodian Carmine Pisaturo, "someone who is seldom recognized but has an impact on all the children at Woodridge Elementary School.” 2005

29. Cranston School Custodians Who They Really Are Gaspare Cozzo August 10, 1941 – April 15, 2003 “This Foyer is Dedicated To Gaspare Cozzo In Recognition of His Hard Work and Love Of Glen Hills School.”

30. 10 Reasons Why Privatization Hurts Cranston • Our children’s safety is put at risk when the School Department gives control of hiring over to a contractor. • There may be a different custodian in the school every day. Children are exposed to unnecessary and destabilizing staff turnover due to low wages. • When profit is the prime motivation, there is an incentive to cut the quality and quantity of worked performed. • Cranston’s employment base is eroded when good jobs are replaced with poor jobs. • Resources are drained from Cranston’s economy as profits are transferred to out-of-state companies.

31. 10 Reasons Why Privatization Hurts Cranston • Contractors often “low-ball” the initial bid, then raise rates once the school is dependent on the contractor. • When parents complain about the contracted service, the School District is entirely dependent on the contractor. • High contractor turnover rates make pre-employment screenings more difficult to perform. • Contracting out costs more than advocates claim because hidden costs of services are often ignored. • A large percentage of our school custodians live in Cranston. An out-of-state contractor may not hire locally.

32. How Privatization Would Hurt Our Families • The average Cranston custodian would experience a severe drop in salary, from approximately $37,000 to $20,000, and they would also be paying increased contributions for their benefits, resulting in a drop in total household income of at least 50%. • At $20,000, the average size 3-person household would be eligible for the major publicly-subsidized programs such as food stamps and RI Medicaid. • A second part-time job would likely raise this household income only slightly. It would still fall far short of what is needed to meet the household’s basic needs.

33. Summary of Why Privatization is Wrong The private companies that proposed to provide Cranston Public School custodial services would: • Reduce the current average wage among Cranston Public School custodians from $17.92 to an average$10.00 per hour. • Eliminate or reduce healthcare benefits, and eliminate retirement benefits for all workers. • These severe pay and benefit reductions would effectively force the 90 lower to middle income Cranston Custodians and their families to bear the burden of the School District’s deficit. • If the average Cranston Custodian today continues to work as a school custodian for the proposed private company, they and their families will no longer be able to make ends meet or meet the household’s basic needs.

34. Summary Why Privatization is Wrong • If the School District allows the privatization to go forward, most of the current staff will effectively lose their jobs because most of the jobs offered under privatization simply are not economically viable. The terms of the contract do not provide enough earnings for the typical worker to meet the basic needs of his family even with a second part-time job. • In contrast, under the current terms of employment, workers can and do depend on these jobs as their household’s primary income source. Moreover, the level of pay affords these workers and their families the ability to meet their basic needs, if still somewhat below a middle-class standard of living.

35. In conclusion, we the Cranston Custodians have been loyal, dedicated employees who have worked tirelessly on behalf of the Cranston School District, students, and taxpayers. Privatization would only hurt the School District and effectively put all of these loyal and dedicated employees out of work. We ask for your support in preserving our jobs and our livelihoods.