Part-Time College Workers Feel Exploited

Julia Fye, plain speaking and not shy about voicing an opinion, said she has seen working people “wronged too often” to remain quiet while she and other part-time employees of the San Diego Community College District are “exploited.”

Fye, 63 and a widow, and her sister, Ann Hamilton, 57, work occasionally as janitors for the district. The two feisty sisters and 148 other part-time hourly workers are at the center of a labor dispute that has pitted the district and its three campuses against the Service Employees International Union, Local 102.

Some part-time employees work up to 194 days a year, with no benefits, paid vacations or paid holidays. Others work only a few days each month. Although most have worked part time for several years, they keep getting bypassed for permanent jobs that become available to less-qualified applicants, the union contends.

Each worker interviewed for this story said he or she has endured the uncertainties that come with the marginal jobs in the hopes of landing a permanent job with the district and the full range of benefits that come with it.

“If I work for a place a certain length of time, that should tell them I’m good enough to work for them,” said Fye, who has been a part-time employee for two years. “Custodians don’t even count to the district. They figure you’re dirt, and they’ll get rid of you along with the dirt you pick up. A person’s got pride. . . . When you get passed up again and again it’s a slap in the damn face. It breaks you up.”

According to the district’s director of personnel, Wayne Murphy, the district employs 150 hourly, part-time workers, in addition to its permanent labor force. The workers, who are called a “contingent work force” by the union, are represented by Local 102, and, theoretically, are used by the district to replace full-time employees who are ill, injured or on vacation. Most of the part-timers are custodians, but the group also includes gardeners and secretaries, Murphy said.

The part-timers do the same jobs performed by the district’s permanent employees, but at half the pay. State law allows college districts to hire replacements from a pool of part-time workers without paying them benefits as long as they don’t work more than 194 days during the fiscal year that begins July 1, said Murphy.

Although some workers like Fye and Hamilton are now working about five days a month, others are in effect full-time employees who do the same jobs as permanent employees for more than six months of the year, but at a cheaper cost, said Local 102 organizer Kim Waldron.

“The district doesn’t want to admit it, but they’re a cheap labor pool. It’s a great deal for the district; not having to pay benefits or higher wages, but the work still gets done,” said Waldron.

“Oh, Lord, yes. It’s exploitation,” added Fye, who earns $6.33 an hour.

Murphy said he is troubled by charges that the district is exploiting part-time workers, most of whom are minorities and women. Budgetary restrictions force the district to rely on a system that everyone agrees is flawed, Murphy added.

“Obviously, the only time they are employed is when someone is away from the job. Some people who have been around for a while, learn the job, and are frequently called to substitute and do put in 194 days. . . . But the district cannot magically produce money to hire these people full time,” said Murphy.

Waldron and the union have asked the district to fill permanent jobs from the pool of temporary workers. Murphy dismissed the suggestion as a call for “a back-door contract” and said the district prefers having applicants compete for available jobs. Recently, the district hired 11 custodians, eight of whom came from the ranks of temporary workers, he added.

“The district doesn’t want people brought in without competition. . . . We told the union that back-door contracts aren’t in the public interest. Potentially, neighbors, relatives and friends could be brought in as part-timers to make them eligible for full-time positions,” said Murphy.

Applicants, including those for gardening and janitorial positions, are screened by an interview board that includes management representatives. Some workers say the process is too intimidating and not always fair.

Rosalio Fuentes, 48, has worked for the district as a part-time gardener for more than four years. By all accounts, Fuentes is an exceptional worker who requires little supervision, but has been unsuccessful at landing a full-time job with the district.

District officials have notified him that he will be laid off, again, at the beginning of April, said Fuentes, lest he work more than 194 days and have to be paid benefits. Previous layoffs have lasted from one week to a couple of months, said Fuentes, who earns $6.02 per hour.

“I feel like I’m being exploited. If I was not a good worker, they would never call me back time after time,” said Fuentes. “I’ve been passed over for at least six jobs over the years.”

Fuentes was interviewed for a permanent job last year, but he “didn’t do well,” said Murphy.

Wayne Koppel, who is Fuentes’ co-worker, charged that Fuentes failed the oral interview because of a “Catch-22 situation” imposed by the district.

“They told him to take a translator because he doesn’t speak English very well. He did as he was told, then they told him they couldn’t hire him because he needed a translator to communicate with people,” said Koppel. “That’s nonsense. Rosalio may not speak English very well, but he succeeds in communicating with you.” Koppel, a permanent employee who earns more than $12 an hour, said he “feels guilty as hell because Rosalio should have gotten my job.” Koppel was hired off the street three years ago, while Fuentes was working part time.

“The last time that a position became open, everyone thought it would be given to him. . . . He deserved my job because he’s better than me,” said Koppel “The guy’s a saint. . . . I’ve seen him come to work when he’s sick, because he has no sick leave. There’s no better gardener than Rosalio, and the district treats him like dirt. It infuriates the rest of us.”

The district now has an opening for a gardener, and six more gardening positions are expected to open up soon. Fuentes is eyeing the positions and hopes “that this time my time will come.”

Murphy offered Fuentes a little encouragement.

“Some, like Fuentes, are hired repeatedly, long-term and are considered employees,” said Murphy. “Ultimately, I’m sure he will be hired full-term. I’m surprised that he hasn’t.”

Murphy’s promise comes a bit late for Fuentes’ family. Because of his frequent layoffs, Fuentes’ two daughters, ages 19 and 18, were forced to drop out of high school and find jobs to help the family. The two young women are now working in a laundry.

Other workers charged that they are given job titles that do not coincide with the work they perform in order that the district can keep costs down.

Stephan Boyle, 37, has worked as a part-time employee since 1980 and is classified as a tool room attendant for the automotive, welding and machine shops at San Diego City College. Boyle and the union said he is actually used as an instructional assistant and lab technician.

“I like my job, but I don’t like the wages,” said Boyle, who earns $6.23 per hour. “I do supply all the special tools and audio visual equipment to the students, but I spend a lot of my time instructing them.”

Boyle also supervises five student employees, but “I get absolutely nothing from this.”

“I’ve been here since 1980, but I haven’t accumulated any seniority. I’m considered a nobody. . . . I’d really like to be permanent. It’s only fair. When they do, I should get something for the time I’ve been here. Maybe not back pay, but at the very least some recognition,” said Boyle.

Murphy, although not admitting that Boyle is working outside his classification, said he sympathizes with him.

“This situation is very unfair to people,” Murphy said. “But the idea of giving somebody an advantage over others because he’s already on the job is not in the public interest. But we also don’t like having somebody year after year feeling exploited, without being put in a permanent position. We’re trying to find a solution.”