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Service workers and teachers united in fight for legislative changes

Times West Virginian - 3/2/2018

March 02--FAIRMONT -- Every day, Melanie Myers goes to school and works alongside teachers to provide students with resources needed for everyone to learn.

As an autism mentor, her position is considered to be one of a service worker, and she continues to serve alongside teachers in the cold and rain throughout the school work stoppage in solidarity for fixes to legislature.

"It feels very empowering to know we're all doing this together," Myers, an autism mentor at West Fairmont Middle School, said.

School service workers include positions such as cooks, nurses, teacher's assistants, custodians, maintenance, bus drivers and special education workers. The people in these positions are also full-time state public workers, and are fighting for the same reasons their co-worker teachers are; for fixes to the Public Employee Insurance Agency (PEIA) and or a fair pay raise.

"You hear about the teacher strike, that it's a teacher strike, and that's one reason why service personnel are working even harder to get the public awareness," Rhonda Selmon, service personnel president of Marion County American Federation of Teachers, said. "It involves everyone in the education field."

Getting her start as a school custodian, Selmon is proud to have the rest of the county service workers joined in on the picketing during the work stoppage. Having these service workers united together with teachers has served to make the effort more impacting, and the union representatives agree it has been empowering to all parties.

"I think it's really important that we're working together in unity," Stacey Strawderman, vice president of the Marion County AFT, said. "That's what is keeping us strong."

The service workers have braved the elements outside schools with teachers, picketing with signs also fighting or fixes to PEIA. Already sharing a close bond with teachers, the picketing has also brought them closer together.

"I'm proud and I'm glad we're sticking together," Roberta Washington, a teacher's aide at Monongah Middle School, said.

With a pay raise of 3 percent for all service workers in the first year proposed by West Virginia legislature, these workers agree that PEIA is the most important issue to fix.

"It isn't about the raise, it's about the PEIA and that's the big issue I think," Stephanie Ashcraft, an autism mentor at Monongah Middle School, said.

"I am more worried about PEIA," Washington said.

As clouds moved in and the rain started falling Thursday, the teachers and service workers didn't yield but rather gathered together under tents ready to stick it out until progress was made in legislature.

"We all have each other's backs," Selmon said.

Email Eddie Trizzino at etrizzino@timeswv.com and follow him on Twitter at @eddietimeswv.

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(c)2018 the Times West Virginian (Fairmont, W. Va.)

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