| |
Public
Employee Press
School workers’
kids take layoff battle to the airwaves
Danayla Harris,
7 (left), and Darius, 5, are the children of School Aide Clarence Harris.
“Ms.
Dowdy is a drug counselor that comes to my school and teaches us why we shouldn’t
do drugs. She doesn’t talk down to us, she talks to us. I like Ms. Dowdy.”—
Darius Harris
Kymani Murray,
11, with his mother, School Lunch Worker Simone Edwards Murray.
“Ms.
Richards makes sure I don’t eat things that will put me in the hospital.
I’m allergic to peanuts and dairy products. She
really watches over me.”
—
Kymani Murray
| By
ALFREDO ALVARADO
As Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg persisted in wasting
school funds on contracting out while he targeted over 700 Dept. of Education
employees for layoffs, Local 372 took its battle to defend the members to the
airwaves.
Four public schoolchildren whose parents are union members starred
in the radio ad the local aired in September on WINS, WBLS, WWRL and WKRS. The
grade schoolers described the vital role that Local 372 School Aides, family paraprofessionals,
school lunch workers and drug prevention counselors play in their education.
“Ms.
Richards makes sure I don’t eat things that will put me in the hospital.
I’m allergic to peanuts and dairy products,” 11-year-old Kymani Murray
said of his favorite school worker. “She really watches over me.”
Darius
Harris, a second-grader from Harlem, tells about learning about the dangers of
drugs from a Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Specialist. “Ms.
Dowdy comes to my school and teaches us why we shouldn’t do drugs,”
he says. “She doesn’t talk down to us, she talks to us.”
After
the children tell their stories, the ad asks the public to “Tell the mayor
NO to these cuts. When you protect school jobs, you protect school kids.”
The
other children in the ads are Tyrell Washington and Darius’s sister, Danayla.
Tyrell Washington,
14
“He doesn’t just work there, he’s
my friend. I feel very safe in the school.”
—
Tyrell Washington
| Local
372 planned the campaign with DC 37’s Communications Dept. and the assistance
of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, DC 37’s
parent union.
“DOE recently agreed to a huge contract with a Florida-based
consulting firm. It is outrageous to ship tax money and jobs out of state while
laying off hardworking New Yorkers,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian
Roberts.
“These workers should not be on the chopping
block. They keep our kids safe and ready to learn. The layoffs would put children
in jeopardy,” said Veronica Montgomery-Costa, the president of Local 372
and DC 37. “We are very proud of the young students who spoke out in these
radio ads.”
If elementary school students like Darius and Danayla
Harris, Kymani Murray and Tyrell Washington understand the importance of the school
workers, why can’t Mayor Bloomberg? | |
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