Get Involved

by Richard Bermack

Andy Christiansen, Pool Operator,
Fresno County, Member Political Organizer

“I wanted to make sure our county brothers and sisters get a fair shake when their contract comes up, and to do that we needed a labor-friendly board of supervisors. Even though I don’t work for the county, we are all in the same boat.” Andy Christiansen, on why he worked as election campaign director for Fresno County Supervisor candidate Susan Anderson

Most people remember their school custodian as the good-natured person who was always available when someone needed help. But like many service professionals, custodians are often taken for granted by the people they serve. They are often treated as if they are at management’s beck and call. And because they work in an academic setting and don’t (necessarily) have degrees, they are often looked down on and treated as second-class citizens. Fresno Unified School District custodian Andy Christiansen, the pool operator at McClane High School, has been battling to get his fellow custodians treated with respect.

“They [management] act like they are God and you are supposed to do whatever they say,” Christiansen says. “They might ask you to bring a cart of food to the kindergarten class when that is food services’ job or ask you to deliver money from the cafeteria to the office. Want to pass the buck? Get the custodian to do it. You might be in the middle of replacing a broken window and they will call and ask you to get a ladder and climb on the roof to get down a ball. They tell us to do all sorts of ridiculous things that are not in our classification. They will tell you to work faster and complain that you didn’t do this or that. They used to even think it was okay to yell at you. Well, I didn’t feel that was okay, and I would tell them so. You treat me the way you want me to treat you.”

The experience that caused Christiansen to have a heightened sense of equality and social justice some may find surprising–his membership in a motorcycle club. “As a white person you wouldn’t expect that I would get discriminated against, but as a biker with long hair, people look at you like you are an outlaw or up to no good,” he explains. But to the members of his club, being a biker means being a “stand-up guy” and helping others. He says, “It is all about compassion for other human beings and treating people with the dignity and respect that you want in return. It is a never-ending struggle.”

A real turning point for Christiansen was when his union rep, Pat Riley, encouraged him to become a member organizer on the Independent County Employees campaign. ICE, the organization that used to represent Fresno city workers, did such a poor job that many felt it was better at representing the interests of management than those of the workers. Member dissatisfaction reached the point that elected officers of ICE asked SEIU 535 to represent them. With the help of Local 535 member organizers like Christiansen, the workers voted to decertify ICE and to join SEIU 535.

“After the organizer training I now look at everything from an organizing mode,” he comments. “It is all about rallying people together to build a better future. Most important, I learned to listen to people. If they need to vent, I let them vent, and then when they’re done I offer help if needed. When members complain that the union isn’t helping them, I explain to them that they are the union. It is a matter of showing members how they can take control of the situation and not let management push them around when they are in the right. Management acts like they can just say to you, ‘You are fired.’ They act like they’ve never read the contract and don’t know what progressive discipline is. And so we have to explain it to them, and I would have to teach some of the members how to do that in a more aggressive stance, and not let management treat us like we are low-lifes.”

One of the things he remembers best about the ICE campaign is approaching some of the professional classifications, such as building inspectors, who might not normally treat a custodian as an equal. “‘What will joining 535 get me?’ they would ask, and I would say, ‘Number one, a voice. It won’t just be you in the corner complaining about the way you’re being treated. Everyone else will be there, and management will have to listen. When we bargain for a contract, they will have to reach an agreement with us on improving those issues.’” To his surprise, not only did they listen, but they were convinced and thankful.

Christiansen did such an impressive job on the ICE campaign that he was asked to be the member political organizer for Fresno and to direct the union’s crucial effort to elect Susan Anderson to the county board of supervisors. “I had never done that before,” Christiansen recalls. “But I tried it and found I was good at it.” Praising the job he did, organizer Yolanda Guerra said, “Andy coordinated the union’s effort in Fresno on the runoff campaign. He got on everyone’s case to phone bank and precinct walk. He did follow up every day, talking to Susan Anderson and coordinating between her campaign and Local 535.” Anderson won the runoff election, and now Fresno will have its first labor-friendly board of supervisors.

“I got a lot out of working for Susan, and I got lots of help,” Christiansen comments. He found that his enthusiasm for working with people was contagious. But he admits he may have overdone it occasionally. “One of the chapter presidents told me, ‘Andy, my wife doesn’t even bother me as much as you do. Don’t worry, I’ll be there at all the functions. You don’t have to call me every day.’“
Christiansen received an award from SEIU for member political organizing. Unfortunately, he had to work at his other job as a recreation leader in the city parks department the night of the awards and wasn’t on hand to receive the thanks in person.

“I have one last thing to say,” he states at the end of the interview. “My goal—I wish I could get up in the morning and just go on in life and every one is cool. But every day you have to make a stand because the people in management are insensitive.”