Portland Public Schools (PPS) custodial and nutrition service (NS) workers from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 140 gathered at PPS’ central office on Thursday, March 16, 2023 to request hazard pay for the February snow closures. From Feb. 23 to 24, custodians were required to come into work for normal wages, and if unable, had to use personal or emergency leave, or leave without pay. NS workers were not paid during the closures and were not permitted to use paid time off.
Illuminated by the reflection of the late morning sun emanating from the Prophet Center’s orange walls, the group of around 15 held SEIU branded signs as they chanted, “No pay? No way!” and “What do we want? Hazard pay! When do we want it? Now!”
The impacted employees’ exhaustion was evident as they shared testimonies of the hardships faced due to the working requirements during the snowstorm. Those who were able to get to work recalled hours spent trying to get home, money spent for Lyfts after being forced to abandon their cars, and in one instance, injuries in the days that followed after clearing large amounts of snow as the only custodian able to reach their school.
The grievance filed March 7 on behalf of the impacted bargaining unit employees, was inspired by these stories. It requests hazard pay, meaning that “custodians who worked during the state of emergency are given double pay and those who stayed home are compensated for their regular hourly wages without any loss of paid leave.” Additionally, the grievance document asks the district to “refund workers for expenses incurred due to hazardous travel conditions to and from work (towing, car damage, uber, etc.).”
While it originally included NS workers, Amy Silvia, co-chair of SEIU Local 140 and a lead food service worker at Maplewood Elementary, requested the removal of NS from the grievance. Silvia explains she did this because “management did not violate [the] NS contract in any way,” and she “was in the midst of coming to an agreement with NS management regarding the snow days.” As of March 31, according to Silvia, SEIU and PPS have reached the agreement that although NS workers were not originally allowed to use personal or emergency leave during the closures, if NS workers had available leave days PPS will include them on their next paycheck.
PPS’ April 4 grievance response to the custodians states, “Central operations of the District did not cease as employees reported to work via onsite at various buildings or via remote. Therefore the District properly followed the contract and Disaster Pay did not apply.” Frank Leavitt, PPS director of facilities operations and warehouse, writes “In sum, after considering the information presented, I do not find any violation of the collective bargaining agreement, and the grievance, in all of its elements, is denied.” According to Gabe Penk, a union steward, SEIU Local 140 is currently surveying members to guide their next steps, but it’s likely they’ll appeal the decision.
The 2022-23 PPS and SEIU contract states that Disaster Time Pay for custodians is implemented when “a state of emergency is declared by the City of Portland, Multnomah County, the State of Oregon, or the federal government, in which the area covered by the emergency declaration includes the service area of Portland Public Schools,” aligning with the fact that Multnomah County declared a state of emergency from Feb. 22 through Feb. 25.
However, the contract also requires PPS to have “declared an All PPS Closed day, which includes [the central office]/central operations.” This is where the disagreement has arisen. The union members cite PPS twitter announcements that “all school buildings and offices are closed,” but Leavitt references the fact that central office employees were working. PPS was not able to provide an interview but stated, “PPS operates consistently within the agreed upon terms of the current SEIU contract [and] … PPS is fully committed to providing a safe working environment for all our employees.”
The current contract requires all custodians “to report for their regularly scheduled shift when the school or site is closed for inclement weather.” If they believe travel to their work site poses a safety risk they are “permitted to use vacation, emergency/personal business leave, or leave without pay.” According to the same contract, employees are “entitled up to three (3) days’ leave per work year without loss of pay” for emergency or personal business.
A grievance hearing between Penk; Aubrey Headrick, another union steward; Leavitt; and Roshni Sabedra, PPS’ employee and labor relations senior partner, occurred on March 21. Headrick explains that they expected a response to the grievance the day following the meeting due to the two week response period after filing. However, Sabedra states in an audio recording of the meeting that, “if we have a meeting, we have additional days… I’m not sure if we can get a response to you by tomorrow.” According to Headrick this added time without the hazard pay is frustrating for them since they’re living “paycheck to paycheck” and they’ve “already mentally parted with that money to make it work.” At this point Headrick describes any sort of compensation as “symbolic,” but emphasizes how important this is to union members.
Jennifer Borley, a union steward and Franklin custodian, found the snow closures especially impactful. She has an autoimmune disease causing her to take more days off than normal. She explains, “I had to use valuable [paid leave] that I could use on my disease to help my family pay the bills,” and adds that “now when it gets towards the end of the year there’s probably going to be about five or six medical treatments that I will not be able to get paid for.” Similar stories were shared through a survey sent out by SEIU Local 140 with 30% of 104 respondents reporting financial distress due to the closures.
Penk stresses that this isn’t an isolated incident, describing rallies for hazard pay in previous years. Borley recalls that last year when the air quality was deemed hazardous, custodians were still required to come in. In the future, Penk hopes to “bring unions together in solidarity so we’re strong enough to implement what we need.” PPS states, “As negotiations for next year’s contract are currently ongoing, we look forward to listening to SEIU’s concerns.”
