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PUSD classified employees now under single union

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Classified employees in the Poway Unified School District will be leaving their current union and joining with the Poway School Employees Association.

The vote, which was conducted by mail between May 11 and June 9, saw classified employees in the Operations Support Services voting 96 percent in favor of leaving the Local 221 of the Service Employees International Union and joining with PSEA.

The bargaining unit is made up of various blue-collar job classifications, including bus drivers, custodians, groundskeepers, warehouse workers, skilled trades workers, cafeteria workers and others, according to the press release.

The final vote tally was 295 for PSEA, 10 for SEIU and 1 vote for no representation.

According to a press release from Lynnette Turner, president of the PSEA, former SEIU chapter leaders had faced issues of unresponsive SEIU representatives, high SEIU dues and a lack of resources, training and assistance. The former leadership of the PUSD chapter of the SEIU has been working since March to unite their union members with the PSEA, according to the press release.

“PSEA has a proven track record of delivering for its members, both in collective bargaining and in contract enforcement. We are beyond thrilled to join them and ensure better representation for our members,” said Nick Lombardo, a bus driver for PUSD, former SEIU chapter president and former SEIU negotiations team member, in the press release. “Our dispute all along has been with SEIU, not with our co-workers. We want to encourage all our colleagues that voted for SEIU to join us in PSEA.”

PSEA now represents approximately 2,000 employees at PUSD, making it the largest labor union in the district, according to the press release.

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