Guest Editorial: School workers union president says, give us a "livable wage."

Since low paid school workers were not able to reach agreement for a new contract with the Croton-Harmon district, the issues have gone to mediation.

By Jean Avolio, President, Aides of Croton United

Editor’s note: Since last April, the Chronicle has published a number of stories about the struggle of low paid school workers, who include teacher’s aides and lunch room workers, to achieve a better contract with the Croton-Harmon school district. Now their union leader pens a plea to the district and to the community, in her own words.

"A penny saved is a penny earned."  There is certainly none of that happening with any of our members. We are living paycheck to paycheck.

The ACU (Aides of Croton United) is currently in the midst of negotiating a new contract with the Croton-Harmon school district.  Our last contract expired on June 30 of this year.  We will be entering the 24/25 school year working off of that contract.  After a number of meetings with the district regarding negotiations, we have reached an impasse and are now moving forward with a mediator.  Our first mediation meeting will be on September 25, 2024.  The aides are not requesting an unreasonable rate of pay from the district, we are simply asking for a "livable" wage.

A good number of our aides are Croton residents and homeowners.  They are paying the very high local school taxes, but are unable to reap any benefits from it themselves.  But there is no shortage of raises and stipends going to the four superintendents and other administrators throughout the district. 

It would behoove the taxpayers to attend Board of Education (BoE) meetings and to read the meeting agendas and funding approvals online.  The BoE has recently approved payment for a translator at a higher hourly rate than the aides.  They are paying new hires twenty cents less than our members who have worked 6+ years for the district.  We are hopeful that now that there is a new BoE President, Ana Teague, that we can finally be heard and recognized for all of our hard work.

Our bargaining unit came to fruition in 2016.  Since that time, we have often been referred to as "the low hanging fruit on the tree” by the district.  We are constantly being told by administrators that the schools could not function without the support of the aides.  Yet, here we are actually "begging" the district for a fair wage. Now, more than ever, there is an even greater need for aides due to the population of students that require help to navigate their school days with success.

To the parents who have a child in an Individualized Education Program or a need for supervision, I have one question.  Would you rather your child have consistency with an already trained adult, or be left with having a different aide every year because the district refuses to offer a sustainable salary? 

About 20 years ago, the district "let go" of all of their Teaching Assistants.  They then hired Teacher Aides at a much lower hourly rate with no paid sick time or medical benefits.  The district has saved literally millions of dollars for taxpayers by paying us low wages, while we have some members that have to work 2-3 jobs to be able to have health insurance for their families.     

It is my understanding that local government officials have reached out to the district on our behalf.  The support from across the Croton community has been overwhelming and we are extremely grateful!!  The ACU's plight is in no way a political matter of being Left or Right, it is simply a matter of being Wrong or Right.

Jean Avolio is a teacher’s aide with nearly two decades of service to the Croton-Harmon school district. She is president of Aides of Croton United.

To share this post, or to share The Croton Chronicle, please click on these links.

Comments policy: No personal attacks, please be polite and respectful.