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Teamsters urge council not to eliminate crossing guard program, warn of about 460 job losses
Summary
A Teamsters representative told the council that eliminating the crossing guard program would eliminate about 460 low-wage jobs, create jurisdictional problems and could not be replaced effectively with a volunteer program, urging the council to preserve the positions.
Judith Serlin, representing the Teamsters, told the council during public comment that eliminating the city's crossing guard program would cut roughly 460 jobs and create jurisdictional and training problems.
"If you get rid of a crossing guard program, you get rid of about 460 employees, 460 of the lowest paid employees in the city," Serlin said. She questioned proposals to replace crossing guards with traffic officers or a volunteer program, saying traffic officers are differently classified and that volunteers cannot reliably perform the duties year-round.
Serlin said the program historically provided entry-level employment and workforce introduction for many workers and that removing it would eliminate an important pathway into the city's workforce. The council took the comment under advisement and offered to set up further meetings; no council action on the crossing guard program was taken at this meeting.
