Arizona - Custodians Win Back Jobs
Victory Achieved: Arizona state custodians stand proudly before the House of Representatives after lawmakers voted to rehire them.
Victory Achieved: Arizona state custodians stand proudly before the House of Representatives after lawmakers voted to rehire them.
Photo Credit: Roxana Guevara
Phoenix, Arizona
State custodians, who earlier this year lost their jobs to inmate labor and a private contractor, have won the right to reclaim their posts.
Laid off in April, 34 custodians represented by AFSCME Local 3111 fought to be reinstated, building support among lawmakers from both parties. A bill ordering the state to rehire them—and prohibiting the outsourcing of their jobs—was signed into law in July by Gov. Jan Brewer (R).
With 38 years of public service, Terry Nickerson, lead custodian of the laid-off unit, says it was “like I didn’t count” when the state decided to replace him and his colleagues. They fought back.
The custodians met with key legislators—pointing out that if the state can afford to hire a privateer, it can afford to keep its own dedicated employees. The workers also noted the low quality of work done by contractors.
The lawmakers couldn’t prevent the layoffs, but Senate Pres. Pro Tempore Thayer Verschoor (R) agreed to sponsor a bill to get the workers’ jobs back. Lobbying other lawmakers in person and by phone, the custodians gained bipartisan support for the measure, which passed both houses in June with votes to spare.
As their hard-fought victory unfolded, Nickerson and other custodians watched from the Senate gallery. “It felt good to know they realized that replacing us with contractors wasn’t the way to go,” he says. “A lot of people say, ‘What’s the use of fighting city hall when they’ve got the upper hand?’ This proves that you can win when you work together.”
Sheri Van Horsen, an 18-year state employee who has been Local 3111's full-time president for the past three years, agrees. “Too many state employees feel they are powerless to change their situation,” she says. “But the AFSCME custodians proved that by banding together with their union, they could defy all odds to achieve their goals.”
