Cafeteria workers join union amid pay concerns

The cafeteria workers at the elementary school have unionized.

On Wednesday, the School Committee voluntarily approved recognizing the cafeteria workers' efforts to join the Lanesborough Education Association collective-bargaining unit. The move will allow the union to negotiate on behalf of the four workers in the cafeteria.

Sean MacDonald, president of the Lanesborough Education Association, said the union will negotiate for them under a subsection of the contracts. The union already has a subsection for paraprofessionals.

That subsection would list the job descriptions, pay scale, and benefits. MacDonald said the negotiations would include sorting out managerial duties such as evaluations and managing staff.

He said the move doesn't stem from a grievance but there are concerns with pay. He said some of the staff members are "way underpaid" while others are comparable to other districts.

"We have one staff member making less than $10 an hour, which is way too low," MacDonald said.

The union president said the members will benefit from having a union including the ability to negotiate items like clothing. Now, some staff are paying out of pocket upward of $150 because the clothing allowance hasn't increased. The union also gives the workers the ability to reassess the agreement with the school every three years.

"At the end of the day, you are always in a better position when you are in a union," MacDonald said.

Superintendent Douglas Dias said unions do give a sense of protection for the workers and as long as there is a strong relationship between the administration and the union, it can work for the benefit of both sides. He has seen this model of having a subsection in contracts with different job descriptions.

The School Committee voted 2-1 to voluntarily recognize the affiliation, though the board didn't have much of a choice. According to attorney Adam Dupere, who represents the union, if the School Committee didn't accept it, the workers would just have to petition the Department of Revenue to join.