Dragon Info
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Get Involved Activists Ralph
Garcia, Chief Shop Steward by Ed Herzog Morale is in the pits,” says Garcia. “We’re always on the go, go, go, with time limits for all of our duties. That’s how people get hurt.” Though Garcia admits the district has raised pay 25% for warehouse workers over the last three years, workers are still forced to work extensive overtime because of lack of staff. “Nine months out of the year we work overtime, ten-hour days and Saturdays,” says Garcia. “What good is the money if you can’t take a vacation?” Substitute Workers To make matters worse, when vacancies do occur, the district hires substitute workers. They work for less pay with no benefits and no union protection. After nine months, when the district is required to hire these workers as permanent employees, they let them go and hire more. Of the 25 workers at the warehouse, 10 are substitutes. “Everybody loses, even the district,” says Garcia. “They figure they can pay the next guy without benefits so they do it. You have people working next to each other doing the same thing and one guy’s earning less than the other guy. It’s nothing but a two-tier wage system. They use them for nine months and then all of a sudden they’re gone and we have to train a new person. Out of the nine months, we spend three months training each sub. “Subs know they don’t have a future here. They say, ‘Okay, I’m here. I’m doing good. Do I have a chance at a permanent job? No, I’ll be gone in two or three months. So, what do I care?’ That hurts the district. They come and go.The district just uses them.” Poor Equipment The district also scrimps on equipment. “It’s ancient,” adds Garcia, “and used to be the best around. Nobody is shown how to use it and so there are a lot of job injuries. The veterans have been real good about taking new employees under their wing and teaching them proper safety techniques. But there is no official training. This job can be very hazardous and there are many job injuries. We work on it every year, but they always give us the same excuse: no money, though there seems to be money for everything else. “Most of the warehouse workers like it here, but want to see it change,” adds Garcia. “We’re losing real good people. Many would like to stay but say there is no future here, and these are the guys that care the most about the kids and the schools. That’s one of the main reasons we work here. Many have their own children going to school at FUSD. But how can you make it when you have no backup from management?” Garcia represents the warehouse workers of the approximately 600 classified union members. “We’re the backbone of the district. Without us, nothing would function. The whole place would fall apart. But we don’t get the respect we deserve. We’re always at the bottom and they shoot us down farther every year. Maybe it’s time they found out what life would be like without a functioning warehouse. It’s about time we were heard.”
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Fresno
Unified School District warehouseman and chapter chief steward Ralph Garcia
has been with the district 26 years. He has seen the district grow. During
his tenure it has built 10 new schools and added more teachers and more
classified employees, but one facility remains a relic from the past:
the district’s warehouse. It suffers from an acute staffing shortage.