After 23 years as a regular education K–5 paraprofessional in San Francisco, Linda DeMartini is familiar with layoffs. The United Educators of San Francisco member has received her third pink slip in five years.

The district rescinded each of her two previous layoffs, but this year, she believes, the budget situation is worse. Regardless, she is luckier than most of her peers. If this year’s layoff is not rescinded, DeMartini will have the option of moving to a special education position within the district.

Nonetheless, she describes the layoff experience as akin to divorce proceedings. “My work is more than a job,” she explains. “It’s a relationship…with children, the school and the community.

 “The district seems to see us as numbers,” she says. “They try to balance the budget on our backs, but we’re not assembly line workers. This is a ‘people-job.’  We want to bridge the achievement gap, but to do that, the children need people in their lives to hold their hands. It’s about personal relationships.”

At 58, with a husband on permanent disability, DeMartini may be relieved that she can transfer to special education. But she worries about the transition. Despite being “highly qualified,” she doesn’t have experience working with children with severe special needs.

Despite the personal hardship, DeMartini knows she’s not being singled out. “It’s not just about me,” she says. “A lot of exceptional paras and classified employees are being put through this.”

Strategies for saving classified jobs

Many school staff around the state feel anxiety about the possibility of losing their jobs. Unlike their teacher colleagues, paras and classified employees receive only 45 days notice of layoff with no chance for a hearing. That’s up from the 30-day notice of the past, an improvement the union won by successfully passing legislation.

But 45 days is still little time to reorganize life plans. What’s more, classified have no standard timelines such as March 15 pink slips and May 15 notice. The layoff notices can come at any time.

At CFT Convention a panel of experts and local leaders shared strategies for saving classified jobs.

Pat Lerman, a field rep in the Monterey Bay region, spoke about negotiating retirement incentives. Some workers are ready to stop working and voluntarily leave the job, or may want to work fewer hours. She said unions can negotiate benefits for a job that is 6 hours per day, so when you ask for voluntary reductions, the people working fewer hours still receive benefits. Just remember “the district

cannot have temps doing this work — that’s crystal clear under the California Education Code.”

Sandra Lepore, from the AFT College Staff Guild in Los Angeles, added that you have to watch those positions and make sure they are filled again. “You can be left with vacancies and still needing to get those jobs done.”

Petaluma Field Rep Terry Elverum concurred. “Even if people are laid off, “this is still classified work.” He cited Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo. There were 190 classified positions when he worked there. Now with a burgeoning student population there are 210 positions — and 900 hourly employees.

 “It’s important to watch who is doing the work in your unit,” Elverum warned. “You have to bird dog it.”

In Santa Cruz, Joan Lowe said their situation in 2004 was very painful. “The board members went through each job, and said yes or no. It was horrible.” But last fall, the union helped elect five of seven education-friendly board members.

“This year the new board told the teachers and classified to work together to come up with a plan,” Lowe said. “We had to cut $38,000. We are going to figure out how to cut that $38,000 without affecting the workers.”

Janet Eberhardt, a paraprofessional from San Francisco concluded, “You need to be prepared. It’s important that you read the contract yourself.” She urged people to “understand the money. And let them know that you are not going to sit down and let things happen. Be a part of the decision-making process in your districts.”

— Mindy Pines, CFT Reporter and Jane Hundertmark, Editor

Know your rights in a classified layoff

Four reasons for layoff

1) Expiration of a specially funded program.

2) Bona fide reduction of a service.

3) Bona fide elimination of a service. 

4) Lack of funds and actual financial inability to pay salaries of classified employees.

Order of layoff:  Employees laid off first must be those with the shortest length of service in their current class, plus higher classes in which the employee has served as a probationary or permanent employee.

Length of service:  Your contract will explain whether your length of service is based on your date of hire or the total number of hours that you’ve worked.

Reduction in hours:  Reducing hours is not the employer’s prerogative — it must be negotiated with the union unless your contract allows reductions in hours without negotiations.

Notice of layoff:  Must be given to classified employees in writing 45 days prior to the effective date of layoff. For specially funded programs that end June 30, notice must be given by April 29.