The Campaign for a Living Wage |
July 9, 2009
School Board and Superintendent:
I am Barry Weinstein, co-chair of the Fairfax Coalition for a Living Wage, Secretary of the Fairfax Federation of Teachers and teacher at Kings Glen Elementary School.
On the last day of the school year, I received my 20th year “Celebration of Service “Certificate, my picture cube, and $100. It precipitated some fond memories. Most of my times in service, I look back on my work, the work of my colleagues, our work, and see we act, as we profess, as “a family”. I see it implemented daily, all of us, what is asked of us, even more. Tangible results.
I have also seen how FCPS has established itself as a leader in the school systems in our nation.
On the issue of a living wage: A part of “our family” has been ignored and FCPS has not shown leadership representing our weakest, most vulnerable link. We have been followers for some time, not leaders in this respect.
As recognized by the current policy of Fairfax County, FCPS employees who work full time should be able to live on the compensation they receive. We need your leadership to direct the Superintendent to put in place a resolution to implement a policy towards a Livable Wage comparable to the jurisdictions of Arlington and Loudon Counties, Alexandria, DC, Montgomery and Fairfax Counties.
Living wage initiatives operate under a simple premise: Individuals working full time should be able to provide food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare for their family without living in poverty and relying on social services.
In my school alone, we had no less than eight custodians in and out over one year. I knew all of them. For the vast majority, it was their second or third job. Next year in my school, instead of five custodians, they will be asked to do the same job with four.
The analysis from cities and counties that tie living wage provisions to quality services, report increased worker productivity, decreased turnover and absenteeism, and overall stability in the workplace. Fairfax County Public Schools cannot continue to attract and retain the best educational support employees in the Washington DC metropolitan area when surrounding jurisdictions have initiated living wage ordinances of their own. .
We have no continuity, no allegiance, and no family. What we do have is approximately 5% of FCPS employees, an essential part of our schools success, earning less than a livable wage as defined by studies of the cost of living in the Washington DC area.
In the past, board members Illryong Moon, Brad Center and Kaye Kory introduced the Living wage issue into the” FCPS Human Resource Operational Expectation” which requires “staff to develop compensation and benefit plans that are fair and equitable and attract and retain the highest quality employees.”
FCPS needs to enact a resolution that describes a systematic and fair process of adjusting the lower tier pay scales, over time.
Margaret Panik, Vice president of FEA, and I as secretary of FCFT were elected as Co-Chairs of the Fairfax County Coalition for a Living Wage in part because FCPS has become the last hold out in the metropolitan area to enact a living wage policy.
On behalf of the Fairfax County Coalition, I wish to thank Mr. Moon, Mr. Center, and Dr. Rainey, Ms. Bradsher, for their interest in listening, finding the human analytical resources, and doing the research, and action on behalf of the School Board.
Thank you especially, Kaye Kory for her time, thought and deep commitment to addressing what we consider the weakest link in the FCPS “family structure.”
We hope, and trust, the School Board and the Administration will act with determination and thought to a conclusion of a just, responsible, cooperative, school friendly resolution for the most vulnerable of our employees.
Barry Weinstein
Co-chair, Fairfax County Campaign for a Living Wage
Secretary, Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 12, 2009
School Board and Superintendent:
I am Barry Weinstein, co-chair of the Fairfax Coalition for a Living Wage, Secretary of the Fairfax Federation of Teachers and teacher at Kings Glen Elementary school, home of the Gators. Once again we would like to express appreciation for your past efforts in bringing FCPS employees closer to a living wage. During last difficult budget, you made possible the one time supplement of $500 for employees at the bottom of the FCPS pay scale we are aware of the work and time you put into it.
The Fairfax County Committee for a Living Wage is a coalition like others around the country. In our case, we are a coalition of over three hundred, faith based groups, service organizations, labor, and political groups. Living wage initiatives operate under a simple premise: Individuals working full time should be able to provide food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare for their family without living in poverty and relying on social services.
The analysis from cities and counties that tie living wage provisions to quality services, report increased worker productivity, decreased turnover and absenteeism, and overall stability in the workplace. Fairfax County Public Schools cannot continue to attract and retain the best educational support employees in the Washington DC metropolitan area when Alexandria, Arlington, and Loudoun, and Montgomery Counties and schools, and yes, even Fairfax County Government have adopted Living wage policies of their own.
In January we met with members of the school board. We proposed a resolution which would ask each school board member to consider. The proposal which Kaye Kory has taken leadership on and will introduce to you, acknowledges that times are tough. School boards across the country are faced with insurmountable budget limitations and difficulties of all kind. That’s why we believe Ms. Korys proposal is pragmatic in its approach to phasing in the living wage commitment over a period of years, based on FCPS provided HR data and only when the economic crisis is over. Last year Phillip Neidzielsky-Eickner requested and obtained the nuts and bolts of the estimated costs of a Living Wage to FCPS. You are familiar with the numbers: 545 FTP and 846 PTW’s earn less than $12.75 an hour. In the past board members Illryong Moon, Brad Center and Kaye Kory introduced the Living wage issue into the FCPS Human Resource Operational Expectation which requires “staff to develop compensation and benefit plans that are fair and equitable and attract and retain the highest quality employees.” Ms. Kory has taken the additional leadership position and provides you, we think, are a proposal, that describes a systematic and fair process of adjusting the lower tier pay scales, over time. To us, it also says that you value all FCPS employees, and recognize us all for the work we do in our schools.
All government agencies strive to maintain the economic health of their communities. Should , would, could FCPS help facilitate the stress in the lives of employees who need to seek public assistance, or try to find employment elsewhere where they pay more, or be forced to find a third or fourth job, and the daunting array of child and family situations thy cause?
Margaret Panik, Vice president of FEA, and I were elected as Co-Chairs of the Fairfax County Coalition for a Living Wage in part because FCPS has become the last hold out in the metropolitan area to enact a living wage policy. We understand no one will receive a COLA or step increase. This goes for our lowest paid workers too…not even the $500. We would like to ask you to think about that and particularly consider the employees I have been talking about tonight.
We are here tonight to show our gratitude and thank board members Phil, Illrong, Brad and Kaye for their interest in listening, finding the human analytical resources, and doing the research to spark the conversation, interest, and hopefully action of the entire school board. Thank you especially, Kaye Kory for her time, thought and deep commitment to addressing our concerns.
Barry Weinstein
Co-chair, Fairfax County Campaign for a Living Wage
Secretary, Fairfax County Federation of Teachers
The Campaign for a Living Wage
Additional Resources
Photographs and illustrations, as well as text, cannot be used without permission from the AFT.