Lay-offs of CT school security draws complaint from union
ORANGE CT Match 19 2021 — The union representing school security officers employed by the Board of Education has filed a complaint with the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations, triggered by the layoffs of three officers at local schools.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed the complaint against the Board of Education on behalf of AFSCME Local 1303-486, the entire bargaining unit, as the layoffs caused “unilateral changes regarding working conditions for those still currently employed,” said Renee Hamel, spokeswoman for the union.
In the complaint, the Council 4 union alleges the Board of Education “failed to bargain with the union.”
In the layoff notice received by John Winchell, who was a security officer at Turkey Hill School, the Board of Education stated that revenue to pay the security guards’ salaries had declined due to a drop in after-school enrollment this year.
“I was shocked to get my pink slip,” said Winchell, who became a full-time security officer in 2018.
School officials did not respond to requests for comment on the complaint or possible changes as a result of the loss of the employees.
In the layoff notice to Winchell, provided by the union and on Board of Education letterhead, also reads: “As you are also aware, we have also had to layoff several members of the staff who work in the after school program.”
The notice also says, regarding Winchell’s layoff, “We regret that we were forced to make this decision.”
There has been public outcry on local social media sites about Winchell’s layoff.
“I know these kids, it’s like an extended family,” Winchell said. “The parents know I have a vested interest. I’ve never done this for the money, it was always about my love of being there and around the kids.”
The names of the other two laid-off security officers were not released, Hamel said.
The complaint also alleges employees were discharged because they signed a union petition. The bargaining unit won its union election in late January and was certified by the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations, Hamel said. Before that, they were the only Board of Education employees without union representation.
Part of their motivation to organize, Hamel wrote in a release, stemmed from demands to perform other work, such as custodial duties.
“We wouldn’t mind helping out and keeping our environment clean, but it was taking us away from our desks and monitors where we’re keeping an eye on things and doing what we we’re supposed to,” Winchell said.
He said the board laid off the officers before they could sit down at the table and work out a contract.
AFSCME Field Representative Alex Guzman said, in a release from the union. “These workers want fair treatment, respect, and dignity. The actions of the Orange Board of Education are shameful, especially in a global pandemic, and proves why they need a contract.”
A preliminary conference has been scheduled for March 30 at the Board of Education offices.
The complaint makes numerous allegations, including that the board didn’t use seniority in the layoffs, failed to bargain with the union, and made unilateral changes in the condition of employment, which was not prior practice before the union was established.
The union is seeking to have attorney fees paid for by the board and to “make all affected parties whole.”
“The AFSCME bargaining unit maintains that laying off dedicated public servants in the middle of a global pandemic…is a demonstration of bad faith by the Orange Board of Education. In their February 9th budget meeting, a Board of Education member discussed hiring retired police officers to replace currently employed security monitors,” the union release states.
