Long-Time Resident Represents School Workers

Name: Terra Salazar

Age: 51

Occupation: administrative assistant and president of the local California School Employees Association (CSEA) chapter

What does CSEA do? The CSEA represents the custodians, secretaries, technicians and other non-instructional workers at Piedmont Unified. There are 115 classified employees. The certificated and management employees are represented by other unions. We handle any grievances and negotiate contracts. I'm proud to say we've never had a grievance.

What do you do for the school district? I call substitutes when teachers can't work. I keep track of sick leave and vacations. And I manage rentals of facilities like gyms and classrooms. My plate is full, but I like to be busy. And the bunch of people I work with is great; I can't think of a place I would rather work.

How did you get involved in the union? I started noticing that the classroom aides were way down in the pay scale. It's a big, big job, and so I said, "This is just not right." I became shop steward. Then in December I became president.

How are the negotiations going for the contract this year? We're getting into hard times. Money is simply not there, so there are going to be deep cuts. It's hard to even talk about because I know people are going to lose their jobs, and it makes me feel bad that I can't do more. We had layoffs last year also. And we took furlough days.

Could there be a strike? I don't ever see a strike happening. Negotiations might take a little longer this year, but we all have the same goals. We want Piedmont students to have an excellent education. To achieve that, we have to get along. We try to look at the interests of both parties—the administration really gets it.

Do you live in Piedmont? Yes, I've lived here since I was 12 years old. I graduated from Piedmont High in 1977. One reason my father moved us to Piedmont was for the schools, and that's why my husband and I stayed in Piedmont. We're an education family. My father was the dean of the California College of Arts and Crafts. We have four children, but now that the oldest has graduated from high school, we would like to sell our home.

Where would you go? Someplace that's not that expensive. We're a blue-collar family, and proud of it. We're also looking for a more diverse community. My husband is Salvadoran, and he was stopped by the police a few times a long time ago, so he never felt like this was his home.

Twelve or 13 years ago, we had a swastika painted on our garage. Aryan Nation books were left on some front porches in the neighborhood. And my kids all experienced racism–I hate to use that word, but it hurt them. The school does a good job trying to teach tolerance, but it needs to start at home.