Union Activists: Give Laid-off Nashua School Custodians Their Jobs Back

Union activists are demanding that Nashua school officials reverse its decision to fire 101 custodians.

The Nashua Board of Education last month voted 7-1 to end its contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents the Nashua custodial workers. The board said they are looking to hire a private cleaning company instead.

Union proponents organized a protest at last week’s school board meeting.

Jim Durkin, legislative director for the AFSCME, said the union custodians deserve to keep their jobs.

“These contract vendors are basically a cleaning crew,” Durkin said. “They pay very low wages, no benefits, and as result there’s extremely high turnover. You contrast that with men and women who have been doing these jobs for 10, 20, even 30 years. They’re part of the fiber of the school community.”

Board President George Farrington previously said the decision to end the union contract was difficult.

“We are at a point where reducing a little here and there isn’t going to be enough to make the budget work as we go forward,” Farrington told the board. “It is time for fundamental changes in the methods and means by which we conduct certain school district operations. I understand that change is difficult and can even be painful for those most closely impacted by it. I don’t make this decision lightly, but I firmly believe this is a necessary course of action for us.”

The Nashua Labor Coalition balked at the move. Chairwoman Deb Howes said the board should have gathered more input from the community before making its decision.

“Privatization is another step in the race to the bottom,” she said said. “It focuses only on the cost of the service, not the quality of the job done. It also takes good paying jobs and trades them for low-wage ones, which leads to more turnover in the workforce – the last thing you want in a school.”

An online petition demanding the board reverse its decision garnered more than 1,000 signatures.