ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Over a dozen Rochester City School District teachers assistants and their union president gathered outside district headquarters on Broad Street Friday, voicing their concerns to Superintendent Dr. Eric Rosser about ongoing payroll issues.
The group chanted “Give me my money” as they continue to face problems stemming from the district’s transition to Oracle, a new payroll company. The Rochester Para Professionals Association Union says around 90 teacher assistants who weren’t paid over the summer have been paid, but not everything they’re owed.
Timothy Bauch, an RCSD teachers assistant at Edison High School, told News10NBC the group came together in a show of force because they believe they aren’t being seen or heard.
“My problem is not as bad as other peoples but there’s definitely a lot of people out here struggling,” Bauch said. “We have a lot of employees in the district that live paycheck to paycheck and it’s affecting them more so than some of us.”
Rochester Teachers Association union President Adam Urbanski sent out a message to members Friday stating that many of their members are still being impacted, and that they plan to hold a rally Thursday, Sept. 25.
In a statement, Dr. Rosser expressed his frustration, saying, “Despite progress in some areas, I remain frustrated that payroll issues continue to surface and affect our employees. We are working diligently to resolve these payroll problems.”
To add insult to injury, there is some confusion about who got paid and who didn’t due to an M&T Bank issue Friday morning, which had nothing to do with the district.
Read the full statement from Rosser:
“Despite progress in some areas, I remain frustrated that payroll issues continue to surface and affect our employees. These challenges are unacceptable and must be addressed expeditiously.
District leadership is actively engaged in strengthening payroll operations. This week, we brought on additional outside experts to ensure that those employees who have been impacted are compensated as early as possible and to address the systemic problems that serve as the root causes of our payroll issues.
We continue collaborating closely with our union partners to identify and resolve problems, while also engaging with our Oracle consultants, other school districts experiencing similar issues, and state officials to ensure that solutions are comprehensive and sustainable.
I fully support the actions of our collective bargaining units as they advocate for District employees. I stand in solidarity with them to meet the needs of every staff member who has been impacted.
The District’s top priority is to ensure every employee is paid accurately and on time. Until that is consistently achieved, we will continue to devote all available resources to resolving these issues”
Read the full email sent out by Urbanski:
“The RCSD/Oracle payroll fiasco continues and we refuse to accept this as the new normal.
Hundreds of teachers are yet to be paid, paid correctly, paid on time, or have correct deductions made. Additionally, many members of our sister unions, especially Board of Education Non-Teaching Employees (BENTE) and the Rochester Association of Paraprofessionals (RAP), remain also adversely impacted. That is why we determined to present a united front in our ongoing joint negotiations with the District to make affected staff “whole.” That is also why we are united in taking collective actions until we achieve a successful end to this festering payroll debacle.
On Thursday, September 25th, all four unions (ASAR, BENTE, RAP, RTA) will rally together in front of the District headquarters (131 West Broad Street, corner of Plymouth Avenue), from 4pm ’til 6pm. That is the same day that the RCSD Board of Education has their monthly meeting. Even if you are not directly affected by the payroll issues, please come to show support for those who are. We are all in this together and we must all advocate for each other.
On Tuesday, September 23 and Wednesday, September 24, from 2pm ’til 5pm, RTA will host a Poster Painting Pizza Party to prepare for the Thursday rally. Please join us if you can. And be sure to come on Thursday to show solidarity and to help us advocate for all our adversely affected colleagues who should not have to endure payroll issues indefinitely.”
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