Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/3058
unit work part time and have been hoping for increased hours. But instead of offering these support professionals more hours, the school dis- trict has been “outsourcing” classified positions and hir- ing nonunion employees with employment agencies. Add- ing insult to injury is the fact that outsourced, nonunion employees have been given full-time positions — at twice the hourly rate of union members. Beverly Hills ESP outraged over outsourcing M any who belong to the Beverly Hills Educa- tion Association ESP Most union employees are paid approximately $15 an hour while the nonunion equivalents are earning about $30 an hour. “They never even asked us if we would like to work more hours,” says Linda Omansky, president of the ESP bargain- ing unit consisting of approx- imately 100 classroom aides and nurse’s assistants. “Our members are hardworking, and they come back year after year making very little. We have been treated like second- class citizens.” The district neglected to fly the positions so that mem- bers could apply for them. According to Omansky, the contract states that “even though the district has the right to outsource jobs, ad- ministrators are still supposed to come to us first and fly the available positions.” Outsourcing classroom aides isn’t even saving the dis- t r ict money, argues Oman- sky, a general e du c a t i on p a r apr of e s - sional for 30 y e a r s w h o works at El Ro- deo Elementa- ry School. She calculates that it costs the Beverly Hi l ls Unified School District a quar- ter of a million dol lars more per year for the o u ts o ur ce d employees — even when tak- ing into account that out- sourced employees receive no benefits from the district while union members who work a minimum of 19.5 hours a week do receive them. Most BHEA-ESP mem- above: Linda Omansky, Beverly Hills Education Association member and president of the ESP bargaining unit, speaks about outsourcing in her district. 22 California Educator | september 2009 bers are special education classroom aides working with special-needs students who are extremely chal - lenging. Many don’t work enough hours to receive benef its. In some cas es, says Omansky, a few extra hours could gre at ly im- prove their quality of life. “Some members have been “What the district has been doing is a slap in the face, and makes no asking for years to have their time increased and get more hours,” says Omansky. “Many of them can’t use their jobs as their main livelihood and need other sources of income. What the district has been doing is a slap in the face, and makes no sense when it’s not saving the district any money.” For nearly a year, Oman- s k y t alked sense when it’s not saving the district any money.” Linda Omansky, Beverly Hills Education Association with the assis- tant superin- tendent of hu- man resources in hope of re- solving the situation. But that person left the dis- trict just when the union and the s chool district were close to an agree- ment. Now bargaining mem- bers are worried that they’ll have to start all over with a new administrator who re- cently came on board. Mem- bers have appeared at numer- ous school board meetings to express their unhappiness. “It’s very frustrating,” says Omansky. “Most of my bar- gaining unit members are very upset. But I will continue fighting for them until this injustice is resolved.” sherry posnick-Goodwin Photo by Scott Buschman