AFT CHEMICAL TRAINING A BIG SUCCESS IN OREGON

The AFT held one of its most successful health and safety training sessions in November when members of AFT-Oregon and the Oregon School Employees Association (OSEA) gathered in Portland for a four-day session on chemical emergency response. In addition to the AFT and OSEA members (OSEA is an independent statewide PSRP union), the training attracted workers from community colleges and K-12 schools.

The AFT has worked for years with the International Chemical Workers Union in Cincinnati to develop the training, which grew out of concerns that too many school districts and colleges lack comprehensive programs for managing the use and disposal of chemicals. The training includes lots of group exercises in addition to lectures on topics such as evaluating chemical hazards, reading labels and safety data sheets, selecting proper equipment, and federal standards related to hazardous materials. The participants also had a chance to don protective equipment and respond to mock spills. The Oregon session was conducted by five trainers from the chemical workers union’s Center for Worker Health and Safety Education.

AFT REPORT SHOWS PSRP PAY RATES REMAIN LOW

With such a wide variety of jobs in the PSRP ranks, it’s not surprising that pay rates as well as hours worked vary from job to job. The AFT’s PSRP compensation report for 2006 includes a wealth of information about the diverse job categories, along with some revealing comparisons with other U.S. workers and with the costs of living in a number of U.S. cities. Despite some salary gains in recent years, the bottom line remains that the vast majority of PSRPs earn less than the average American worker.

Salaries in this year’s report range from a low of $9.57 per hour for kitchen workers to a high of $22.52 per hour for electricians. On a 52-week basis—and many school staff work only 38 weeks—only electricians, carpenters and bus mechanics earn more than the $41,740 figure for all U.S. workers. The report shows another unfortunate trend for the lower-paid PSRPs: Those with lower hourly wages also tend to work fewer hours. Workers who put in fewer than 35 hours per week are less likely to receive important benefits, such as health insurance and pensions.

As with last year’s study, the 2006 report takes average paraprofessional salaries and compares them with the Economic Policy Institute’s figures for what it costs to support a family in metropolitan areas around the country. In only five locations would a paraprofessional working 52 weeks earn enough to support herself and a child. If the family included two paraprofessional parents with two children, there are only nine areas where the combined salaries would exceed the basic budget for a family of four.

Complete copies of the report are available by e-mail request to psrp@aft.org.

ILLINOIS PSRPS RECOGNIZED WITH THEIR OWN STATE DAY

Illinois’ 100,000 PSRPs were honored on Nov. 15 when Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a proclamation making that day—and the third Wednesday in November in future years—Paraprofessionals and School-Related Personnel Day in the state.

The proclamation praises PSRPs, who “provide quality services and play indispensable roles in the education of our students in our public schools.” It outlines some of those vital services and acknowledges PSRPs as “equal and essential partners in the education process.”

As Illinois Federation of Teachers president James Dougherty puts it, “Teamwork between teachers and PSRPs is essential for students to receive a quality education.” The IFT worked with the governor to write the proclamation as a way to “honor those who help create a positive, safe and supportive environment for students and teachers,” Dougherty says.