MCPS: The current crisis and what we can do

With the economic picture in the county worsening, nothing is off the table. It is going to take every single one of us to ensure that the Montgomery County Council passes a budget without cuts that could mean furloughs or even layoffs for supporting service employees.

The County Council will face enormous pressure to sacrifice services because of the economy. They will need to hear from everyone of us. Watch the video above for details on the MCPS budget, our contract negotiations, the staffing letter from Dr. Weast, and what you can do. (Click here for a transcript.)

Sign up, commit to action, and become a part of Local 500's Rapid Response Team. (You'll be the first to know as events unfold, and you'll help get the word out at your worksite.) We're all in this together, and we'll make it through this together.

> Sign an online commitment card today!

Local 500 Annapolis Lobby Night A Shining Success

March 1st was our 2010 Montgomery County Education Night in Annapolis.  This year nearly 100 members of SEIU Local 500, MCEA, MCAAP, and MCCPTA met with state Senators and Delegates who are part of the Montgomery County delegation to discuss how essential state education aid to MCPS is to our students and communities.

Arnetta Rolling, a security assistant at Walter Johnson High School and a first-time member-lobbyist, said of the evening, "It's inspired me to get more active.  They're our legislators -- we send them to Annapolis and they want to hear from us.  Everybody's got to make an effort.  I'm looking forward to learning more about how MCPS is funded and the budget process."

Another first-time member-lobbyist, Bella Portillo of Oak View Elementary, told organizers she came to Annapolis, "because I'm very concerned about the future of supporting services in general and specifically how our students will be affected if positions are cut."  According to Portillo, her District 20 delegates were impressed by Local 500 members' commitment to service and students and vowed to do everything they could in a difficult year to fund MCPS.

> View more photos at Local 500's Flickr site

Four Decades & Counting, Workers Standing Together

Decades ago a small group of supporting service employees in the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) had a vision of uniting all support staff to empower a workforce to believe they were entitled to decent wages, benefits, and rights.

Along with this vision, support staff professionals had big dreams: job security, career opportunities, respect and hope for a better future for their families. This is their legacy to us. This is part of our history. The visionary leaders of our local union’s past give us hope and a model of strength as we face future challenges. This is their story; it is our story.

> Download SEIU Local 500’s History, Vision and Plan to Win

Montgomery College Part-Timers Ratify First-Ever Contract

On January 19, the Montgomery College Board of Trustees unanimously ratified the first-ever contract between the College and its part-time faculty, represented by SEIU Local 500. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Michael Lin, called the contract historic, and board member Stephen Kaufman said that his fellow board members were very pleased with it.

Following the vote to ratify, copies of the contract were signed by the College President Dr. Hercules Pinkney, SEIU Local 500 President Merle Cuttitta, and members of the part-time faculty bargaining team. The two parties are looking forward a productive, collaborative relationship and have already begun to move Montgomery College toward being an even better place to work and learn!

> View a slide show of photos from the signing