Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Massachusetts AFSCME Members Defeat Privatization Attempt

Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Members of AFSCME Local 1404—part of AFSCME Council 93—successfully fought to defeat a plan to privatize custodial services in a Massachusetts school system, saving the jobs of up to 22 dedicated public sector workers.

Workers showed up to Dracut School Committee meetings and town elections, leafletted in freezing temperatures, and spoke out on social media and in the local news to educate residents on the benefits of keeping the custodial services in-house. Their victory is also a win for the broader school system because AFSCME members can now continue to dutifully serve the community.

“We just kept fighting for our rights, and thanks to Council 93 for all their help and guidance every step of the way, we are able to say that we came out on top,” said Local 1404 President Chad Adamczyk. 

“The custodians themselves played the most important role simply by quietly doing their jobs so well over many years before this fight. Because of their dedication and hard work throughout their careers, the Dracut community joined us in the fight,” said Council 93 Executive Director Mark Bernard, who’s also an AFSCME vice president. “Despite the uncertainty they dealt with as their livelihoods were on the line, they proudly continued to show that same strong work ethic throughout the fight. When we fight, we win.”