LAID OFF DC 37 WORKERS NEED TO HAVE THEIR STORIES TOLD

Leroy Allison was an Elevator Operator at Jamaica High School. His last day on the job was last Friday. Leroy was one of the 700 school support people laid off by Mayor Bloomberg. He had over twenty years in the system and was close to being able to retire, but since he was buying back for years where he wasn't in the retirement system, he cannot afford to leave now.

Some of you might be saying that the job title of Elevator Operator is probably obsolete and that because unions protect employees whose jobs are no longer necessary, this is why many people hate unions. Well if you say that then I can say you are totally wrong. Leroy Allison worked all over Jamaica High School. He was retrained and did much more for the school than the elevator which was often broken. The fact that the school never changed or expanded his job title is not his fault. He should not have been laid off.

Over the years Leroy's job evolved to where he was the stock person who filled all of the supply orders for the school. He was also in charge of incoming and outgoing mail for the building. In addition, he spent time helping with student entry in the morning and also toiled in the student cafeteria helping out there. Mr. Allison truly performed many tasks. Without him, I don't think I could have administered the SAT exams on Saturdays for the past decade. He was greatly respected throughout the school.

Only months away from being eligible for full retirement, Leroy was let go in a move that just shows how stupidly the school system is run. Already there is virtually no paper being distributed at Jamaica. Besides Leroy, all of our school aides have seen their hours cut leading to a potential safety crisis.

Leroy was replaced by an Elevator Operator who was excessed from another school and was able to bump him. As the city takes out their vengeance on the lowest paid employees while at the same time allowing retired administrators come to schools as paid consultants, while simultaneously collecting their Tier I pensions, many of us are enraged every day that we walk into work as we see injustice everywhere.

We can only hope that some intrepid reporter will tell the story of each of the hundreds of hard working people who were let go for no other reason than the mayor was apparently angry at their union. Bloomberg and Walcott need to be held accountable for this outrage. I am energized that the City Council held hearings on the layoffs and strongly criticized the Chancellor the other day.

Please don't let up until Leroy and every other employee has their jobs back.