Cleaning Up Or Cleaning Out?

Bundled up against the cold on the steps of Queens Borough Hall, the men and women of the Local 891 Custodial Engineers Union gathered on January 15 to cheer their supporters and jeer those who want to leave them jobless. The borough president joined other local politicians, concerned parents and teachers, and the men and women of Local 891 to urge the Department of Education (DOE) to withdraw its plan to replace civil servant custodial engineers with private contractors.
If the plan is carried out, all 139 schools in Region 3 will be cleaned and maintained by private companies in April. Any principals wishing to retain the services of their current custodial engineer will have to pay for that out of the schools budget.
"I dont believe that privatizing all of the new schools makes sense," said Borough President Helen Marshall. "We know from experience, when a principal has a good custodian she has a good school because she’s going to have a clean school and someone to do repairs. She has a partner in managing her school and she should have a say in that."
Marshalls sentiment, specifically that if a principal is happy with her custodial staff, that staff should remain in place, was echoed by Councilman Joe Addabbo, Councilman Leroy Comrie, Senator John Sabini, Assemblywoman Marge Markey, Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer, Councilwoman Helen Sears, Congressman Anthony Wiener and Councilman James Gennaro.
According to Robert Troeller, president of Local 891, custodial engineers are trained to deal with environmental concerns, and are familiar with chemicals, utilities and electrical systems. They also undergo vigorous testing and background checks.
"Unlike these contractors, we are employees of the Department of Education, fully accountable to the principal and fully accountable to the parents, teachers and the entire school community," he said. "We are not accountable to some corporate executive in some other state. As civil servants we are not motivated by profit, but by the desire to serve the children of this city who deserve to learn and thrive in the safest and cleanest environment."
The DOE has been evaluating privatization for years and fewer than 100 schools are now under private maintenance. Though the DOE cites savings as the reason for the change, an analysis of the 1998-2001 budgets based on the Board of Educations School-Based Budget Reports shows more than $51 million in wasted funds in the schools with private contractors instead of custodial engineers.
Currently, Local 891 has a lawsuit pending that could block the plan and they are holding press conferences to garner support. They have also drawn up a resolution that will come before the City Council to condemn the privatization effort. Troeller says they dont intend to let the DOEs plan go through.
Jim Kennedy, the custodial engineer at PS 106 in Far Rockaway, said that the change has been looming over their heads since he became a custodial engineer three years ago. Now he is afraid that he is going to be left without any means of providing for his family.
"I dont feel safe in my job," he said. "Ive worked long and hard to get where I am and I love my job. There are not many of these kinds of jobs to be had."