Amid negotiations, low-pay school workers take pay increase battle to the streets

While the School District of Manatee County’s low-pay workers negotiate a pay increase with the school board, some of them have taken to the streets to spread the word about their battle.

Drivers along Third Street West took notice of them, standing along the sidewalk with green signs that read “Good jobs now!” held high. Rush hour commuters honked their horns and waved to show support for the movement Tuesday afternoon.

So far, discussions have yielded the offer of a 10-cent hourly increase, which union representative Wilfredo Tellado called “unacceptable.” He explained that low-pay workers within the district — bus drivers, custodians, food workers, etc. — get paid around $11 an hour, which leads to a high turnover rate.

There has also been a shortage of bus drivers in recent months. Tellado believes a better increase in pay would help fill those spots.

“When you consider the shortage of bus drivers, food workers and custodians, these are the people who really help keep the schools running,” Tellado said. “We make sure the kids get home safely, we pick them up safely, the mechanics keep the buses running. You’re offering 10 cents to increase in steps? We think that’s unacceptable.”

Ron Ciranna, Deputy Superintendent for the School District of Manatee County, said he was “disappointed” to hear that workers had taken to the street to gain support. He said they’re currently in the midst of negotiations, so the move caught him off guard.

Tellado said the union, which has about 1,000 members and is being represented by a local American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees chapter, has plans to support the March 20 special referendum that would see a one-mill tax increase that the school board says will go toward district workers, but not every worker is happy about the plan.

Laura Heinrichs has been employed by the district for nine years and is a food worker at Braden River High School. She said she isn’t optimistic that the referendum will pass. But if it does, she says any increase in pay would basically be reimbursing herself for the tax increase.

She hasn’t seen a pay increase in five years and makes just 50 cents more than new hires. Heinrichs doesn’t have a second job to help make ends meet, but she estimated that half of her co-workers do.

Alfreda Mitchell, the district’s head custodian, isn’t necessarily on board with the tax increase. She said it’s still not clear how much of that money would make its way into their paychecks.

“We’d rather have something sure. We may not even see anything from that,” said Mitchell, who began working for Manatee County Schools in 1998 and hasn’t seen a pay increase in “at least eight years.”

The union does have a goal in sight, though. They’d like to make their way toward a baseline standard of $15 an hour.

“Some of these workers need to work two jobs. It’s a struggle, and they need to understand that. They need to be competitive, but 10 cents isn’t going to do it,” Tellado said.

Mitchell said the school board needs to make a stronger offer, too.

“It’s laughable and almost insulting,” said Mitchell. “You think about all your bills, and do you really even see 10 cents on a paycheck?”

This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Amid negotiations, low-pay school workers take pay increase battle to the streets."