School Custodian Union Voices Concerns About Overworked Employees

Individuals working as cleaning personnel since the coronavirus pandemic began last year have reported burnout due to heavy workloads and understaffing and school custodians across the country are no exception. One example is school custodians at Salem-Keizer Public Schools District in Oregon, the second-largest school district in the state, serving more than 40,000 students and 65 schools. 

Custodians in the district have made reports to their union regarding working double shifts, “workplace bullying” by facility management and being understaffed, according to The Salem Reporter. At a recent school board member, about 70 members of the Association of Salem-Keizer Education Support Professionals, the district’s classified employee union, voiced their concerns about their working conditions.

Jeff Jabin, the union’s vice president and lead custodian for the district for 18 years, said the working conditions were present for years but have increased due to cleaning protocols due to the pandemic and schools resuming in-person classes. Rita Glass, the union’s president, said custodians are being asked to work double shifts and have been working up to 33 hours in two days. “[COVID-19] has brought it to a crisis level,” she said.

Following an investigation on workplace bullying and management issues, Mike Wolfe, the district’s chief operating officer, told The Salem Reporter that these allegations were “totally unsubstantiated.” However, Wolfe did not dispute the union’s overtime figures.

Wolfe said overtime costs average US$500 per month for custodians and this amount has increased due to in-person lessons resuming. He added that working overtime is voluntary. “Supporting the hybrid instructional model has created a higher demand for services and has driven the up operational costs as has the much higher absentee rate among custodians,” Wolfe said.

The district employs 187 full-time school custodians with a substitute pool of 16. Additionally, there are 10 permanent school custodian positions currently vacant.

Glass said the union intends to form a task force to further examine the “workplace bullying” issue even though the school district dismissed the allegations.