To: Macon Finley, Head of the Ellis School
To the Ellis School: Show Maintenance Workers Respect instead of the Door
We call on you to keep your dedicated maintenance workers and reinstate your contract with Alder Services to provide the best learning environment for students at the Ellis School. Maintenance workers deserve respect at work, and living wages and benefits to provide for their families.
Why is this important?
On Monday, I was told by the prestigious all-girls preparatory Ellis School where I work, that I was losing my job and would be replaced with someone making $4 less an hour. As a mother of three, I believe in the school’s mission to “prepare, empower, and inspire each and every girl through an excellent education in an all-girls environment” and I take pride in cleaning for the children and teachers, and maintaining the bathrooms, hallways, auditorium, and other facilities.
To make matters worse, I lost my good union job on July 31: Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. Ironically, the Ellis School prides itself on diversity but made the decision to cut their all African American cleaning crew so they can save money.
Instead of continuing to work with a contractor that provides me and my co-workers with a union contract that provides living wages and benefits, the Ellis School decided to contract out our jobs to General Cleaning, which pays workers poverty wages of $8.68 an hour. I want to continue to provide the best learning environment possible for our next generation of women leaders—but I have to be able to provide for my family too.
The Ellis School Values claim to “seek intellectual, emotional, and physical health for every member of our community.” We are asking the Ellis School to live up its values and look after me and my coworkers so we can continue to provide for our girls and families too.
Sincerely, Alyce Toombs