The members of the Neshaminy Educational Support Professionals Association (NESPA) came out in force to speak against outsourcing their jobs.
Members of NESPA said the district’s bus drivers, food service staff, IT workers and clerical staff are all under threat of being outsourced. NESPA represents those workers, which total about 500 jobs.
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Neshaminy School District officials would not comment on whether the district is considering outsourcing some support staff jobs. District officials did say they are negotiating with NESPA, as their contract expires on June 30.
LevittownNow.com confirmed with a district source that administration researched outsourcing some positions last year, but no recommendations were presented to the school board.
NESPA President Mindy Andersen said 80 percent of the district’s support staff live in the district and the average salary is $28,000.
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“You are trying to turn middle class jobs into poverty level jobs,” she told the board. Members of NESPA stood and applauded Andersen’s comments. “What you foresee as savings in one place turns out to be an expense somewhere else.”
One after one, members of the support staff voiced the opinion.
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“We don’t deserve to be outsourced. We do the jobs that need to be done in this district,” a 28-year district bus driver told the board Tuesday night. “Outsourcing is not the way to go.”
Support staff members like Cecelia Ridge praised the quality of the work the union members do.
“We take care of our jobs. We do our jobs in level-A service. That’s what you get from us,” she said. “If you take our jobs, whose going to pay our taxes?”
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Tara Huber, Neshaminy teacher and president-elect of the Neshaminy Federation of teachers, spoke before the board and voiced support for the NESPA workers.
“We’ll be with you by your side,” she said.
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NESPA members also spoke to the board about their dedication and training.
Middletown resident and a support staff worker Michelle Palmer said NESPA members work “tirelessly” for the district and their wages are spend in the local community.
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NESPA members started to fill the board room about an hour before the school board meeting started. In fact there were so many red shirt-wearing NESPA members, the audience for the meeting extended into the hallway and a TV had to be set up.
