Portland School Custodians Victory

The Oregon Supreme Court ruled on October 13, 2005 that the Portland school district is required to employ its custodians under the Custodians Civil Service Law rather than using private contractors. The court reversed the Employment Relations Board decision that allowed the district to subcontract out its custodial services. To read the court's decision, click here: http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/S51669.htm

May 15, 2006:
The school district has indicated that it will not be renewing its contract with PHC and that is will rehire the custodians it wrongly fired in 2002, according to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. It is not clear how quickly this will happen, because the district will have to reestablish its administrative structure, but it is clear that fired custodians should be thinking about whether or not they want to come back to work for the district, as that is likely to be an important question in the near future. On backpay and benefits, the district takes the position they don't have to pay, but they have agreed to a negotiated mediation on those issues. We'll see you at the meeting May 20 at the Union Hall, 6401 SE Foster, 10AM.

May 10, 2006:
The School Board's Finance Committee met this morning to discuss the process for appointing three members and three alternates to the Custodians' Civil Service Board. CCSB members serve for six year terms, and the last term expired in 2005. There will be an announcement on the District website allowing 30 days for applications to serve on the CCSB. Then there will be interviews, and a short list will be recommended to the Finance Committee, which will make its recommendation to the School Board. These are unpaid positions. The current Board members will serve until the new appointments are made. The current Board members are eligible to apply like anyone else.

CCSB members must live in the district for five years before being appointed and be registered to vote there, cannot be a member or employee of the School Board, and must be "known to be devoted to the principles of civil service." This means the CCSB members must be willing to enforce the Custodians Civil Service Law and stand up for the principles of merit and fidelity in service laid down in the law. The School Board cannot appoint members to the CCSB who will try to defeat its purposes.

If you know anyone who would like to serve on the CCSB and would be a strong protector of the civil service rights of custodians, please let them know about these openings and encourage them to apply. If you know the current CCSB members, please let them know you appreciate their work; it would be great to have them back to provide some continuity and institutional memory to the new CCSB.

April 27, 2006:
The Oregon Supreme Court today denied the school district's motion for reconsideration of its decision holding that the termination of Portland's school custodians violated the Custodians' Civil Service Law. There are no further avenues for appeal, and it's time for the district to step up to the plate and remedy this injustice.

Case status as of April 11, 2006:
We are still awaiting the Oregon Supreme Court's ruling on the school district's motion to reconsideration. The court ruled in October, 2005 that the district's contracting out of custodial services violated state law, and the district had asked the court to reconsider and reverse that decision. We will let everyone know as soon as we have the court's decision.

Case status as of February 27, 2006:
The Oregon Supreme Court is still considering the school district's request for reconsideration of the decision declaring illegal the decision to contract out the district's custodial work. We remain confident that the court will stand by its decision, and we will post the results as soon as the court rules on the district's request.

Case status as of February 1, 2006:
We are still waiting to hear from the supreme court. Meanwhile, the school district appears to have issued over 9000 W-2 forms to terminated custodians as well as to other current and former district employees showing incorrect earnings at the district for 2005. We have contacted the district to make sure the error is corrected, and we understand that is happening. If you don't believe this has been fixed by February 10, please let us know.

Case status as of January 19, 2006:
The School District filed its request for reconsideration with the Oregon Supreme Court just before Christmas, with "friend of the court" briefs from Portland Habilitation Center (the contractor now providing janitors -- not custodians -- in the Portland Public Schools), the Portland Business Alliance and Vera Katz, Norma Paulus and Carol Turner. Having reviewed all of the arguments made by the district and its supporters, we do not believe they give the supreme court any reason to reverse its decision. The rules provide that we will not file a response unless the court asks us to, and the court has not asked for any response, so we will wait for a decision.

Case status as of December 6, 2005:
The school district has asked for two extensions of time in which to file a request for reconsideration. The supreme court has granted both requests for extension, and the district's motion for reconsideration is now due to be filed December 23, 2005. We hope for a quick denial of the Motion For Reconsideration, but nothing further can happen to get custodians reinstatement or back pay until the supreme court has finished with the case. We will post updated information here on this case and related cases as soon as it becomes available.