 |
| PHOTO BY MICHAEL BALTER |
Chronicle profile: Jean Avolio, president of Aides of Croton United, is fighting for low paid school workers--and for our kids.
Plus: A description of tasks performed by school aides, in their own words.
MICHAEL BALTER
Note: This post is free to all readers, but not all stories are or can be. Please consider taking out a paid subscription to support local journalism. Details below.
Jean Avolio has never considered herself a natural born leader. But at age 18, after a tough childhood, Avolio left home, and she has been on her own ever since. That school of hard knocks gave her the grit and determination to look out for herself, and also to look out for others. Today, at age 55 and with 18 years’ tenure as an aide in the Croton-Harmon school district, she is leading a fight for better working conditions for the roughly 65 teacher’s aides and lunch workers employed in the district’s three schools.
“I am watching out for others because no one watched out for me,” Avolio says.
On Tuesday of this coming week, June 11, the Aides of Croton United (ACU) will resume negotiations on a new contract with Croton-Harmon school district officials. If they can come to an agreement with the district—something that is not at all sure—it will be the ACU’s third three-year contract, all negotiated under Avolio’s leadership.
Avolio has traveled a long road to union activism. She was born in Peekskill, but moved to Croton with her family beginning in the 10th grade. She graduated from Croton-Harmon High School in 1986...READ MORE AT Chronicle profile: Jean Avolio, president of Aides of Croton United, is fighting for low paid school workers--and for our kids. (substack.com)
*********
YOU MAY ALSO HAVE AN INTEREST IN:
No comments:
Post a Comment