Unions to Protest Custodial Outsourcing With Rally

Union members from North Kingstown and across the state will be on Fairway Drive Tuesday night to protest the school committee's decision to outsource its custodial services. The rally will support the workers fired as a result of the decision.

Last month, the North Kingstown School Committee laid off – represented by the Education Support Professionals union – to make up a nearly $600,000 gap in fiscal 2012's budget. Instead, the committee made unilateral changes to ESP employees, including the elimination of life insurance, reductions of days off, , cutting benefits to employees who work less than 30 hours per work, and other changes.

Though the school district's entire custodial staff was laid off, effective July 1, GCA Services (the company expected to take over janitorial services) has made a verbal agreement to hire back all North Kingstown custodians, pending a background check. Both school officials and GCA are currently working out the details of a contract.

ESP members and supporters came out in full force at the committee's emotion-filled June 25 when the decision to outsource was made in a 5-1 vote. Since then, other efforts have been taken, including an .

The rally is organized by members of the National Education Association Rhode Island (NEARI), of which ESP is an affiliate.  According to a press release from NEARI, the organization's attorneys will be in court Wednesday asking for a temporary restraining order stopping the firings until the court decides whether the arbitrator's award is binding to the committee and the union.

Tuesday's rally will be held at the at 6 p.m.