News
There's No Safe Alternative

Facing a privatization threat, New York State bus drivers take their best selling point--devotion to child safety--to the community.

No private company could ever match what the 175 transportation employees of New York State's Kenmore-Tonawanda (Ken-Ton) district bring to the job: pride in a safety record unmarred by a single fatality, an eagerness to visit schools to teach and drill kids on bus safety, and a willingness--as public employees--to submit to taxpayer scrutiny.

Nor could an outside firm offer a workforce so deeply committed to this community. More than 90 percent of Ken-Ton's drivers, subs, and bus attendants live in the district--where they raise kids, belong to community groups, and volunteer as firefighters.

Yet, for all their dedication, these NEA members face the real possibility that Ken-Ton transportation services could be contracted out to a private company.

Using funding from the pro-privatization administration of New York Governor George Pataki, the Ken-Ton district has engaged a consulting firm, the Transportation Advisory Service, to examine possible "alternatives" to in-house transportation.

This firm has a track record of issuing reports that recommend privatization--smack in the middle of school district contract bargaining. And, you guessed it, contract talks are now underway in Ken-Ton.

But leaders of the 675-member Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School Employees Association (KTSEA) aren't just waiting for the other shoe to drop. They're acting to stop privatization before it starts.

"We've asked each transportation employee to gather the names, addresses, and phone numbers of five district residents who could be influential in any battle against privatization," says local President Pete Elinski. "We're building a database of supporters to contact to attend meetings--and looking to expand that base."

This NEA ESP local is also gathering support from other area labor unions and working to educate parents about its members' fierce dedication to safety.

At a January meeting with local PTA leaders, KTSEA activists explained how these experienced members manage to drive 7,000 students 900,000 miles a year without a single fatality.

With TV camera crews recording the scene, these NEA members awed the PTA parents with in-depth descriptions of their pick-up and exiting procedures. They explained their hand signals for road crossings--and talked about their bus evacuation drills and the training they take on safety equipment, everything from two-way radios to kick-out windows.

"I stressed that our drivers are highly experienced, committed to safety needs, and dedicated to kids--and I warned that safety would fall off if our work was contracted out," notes Elinski, a head custodian.

"We received very positive feedback afterwards," he adds. "PTA members told us that we had planted 'seeds of thought' in the parents."

If it sounds like Ken-Ton ESP are following some sort of anti-privatization textbook, that's because they are. They're using tactics straight from Organizing the Offense: Campaigning Against Privatization, a manual used to help NEA affiliate staff and leaders become part of a national cadre of privatization experts.

The manual has helped Ken-Ton support staff take the offensive.

"Being proactive is the best medicine," says cadre member Mark Perez, a UniServ director and former custodian. "And the best way for ESP to be proactive is by building bridges to teachers, the community, and the school system."

The NEA anti-privatization manual stresses the importance of developing a pre-emptive local action plan and articulating the negative impact of privatization on individual employees, the local Association, and the community.

The manual also helps expose the myths used to justify contracting out school support services.

Among those myths, notes lead NEA cadre trainer Paul McBride, is the claim that privatization is simply about "cost effectiveness."

"Privatization is not about saving money," he stresses, "it's about management power, political patronage, and outright union busting."

"Don't talk about numbers when confronting a privatization threat," advises McBride, a retired ESP program director for the New Jersey Education Association and a veteran of the privatization wars.

"Don't try to outbid the school board to provide support services," he adds. "You're playing on their court and you'll lose. Rather, you've got to convince the community and other school staffers about the service cuts at stake.

A typical privatization proposal, McBride notes, only addresses the obvious tasks that ESP perform.

"The school board doesn't know about the rest," he explains, "but parents will recognize a cut in service when the driver picking up little Jimmy is no longer a district resident who lives down the street."

Parents will also notice inattention to safety details.

"The only Western New York school district to have an elementary bus fatality in the last 10 years--in Erie County--used contracted bus service," notes 16-year Ken-Ton driver Starr Picchione. "We Ken-Ton drivers take great pride in our safety record. We provide the best service out there!"

"Because NEA ESP members tend to live in their districts and belong to local churches and community groups," sums up New York UniServ Rep Tom Nelson, "they have an ability to touch base, to change perceptions in the community. They are NEA's best weapon in the fight against privatization."

If you're attending the 2000 NEA National Conference in Atlanta, drop by Paul McBride's April 8 workshop on "Organizing the Offense."

Kudos To ...
Needles Teachers Make Their Point

• Following 18 months of negotiations and a four-day strike, the 73-member Needles (California) Teachers Association has a new two-year contract. All teachers will get a 3 percent increase retroactive to July 1, 1998, and a 1.41 percent raise for this school year, retroactive to July 1, 1999, while some members will get a salary and benefits package boost of 6.91 percent. Health benefits are maintained at current levels for this year.

• After privately employed school bus drivers in the Classified School Employees Council-Las Cruces (New Mexico) won bargaining recognition in December 1998, they battled to win a first contract and stave off a decertification drive.

  Union activists at the Helweg and Farmer Transportation Co. defeated the "decert" attempt this winter and won a contract with a 6 percent increase this year--plus an opportunity for drivers to earn bonuses, a joint committee to search for a better health insurance carrier, and a "letter of intent to file for unemployment" that relieves drivers laid off during school breaks from doing a job search.