Union busting no match for Rochester 853 School organizers
n anti-union misinformation campaign couldn’t deter educators at the Mary Cariola Children’s Center in Rochester from organizing. The 163 full-time, part-time and per diem staffers, representing a range of titles including teachers, behavior analysts and speech therapists, said “yes” to the union in early December to form Mary Cariola United, one of NYSUT’s newest locals.
As an 853 School serving children and young adults who are medically fragile, or have autism, cognitive delays or physical disabilities, staff retention and recruitment is a key issue, said Trevor Francis, an organizing committee member and third-through-fifth grade teacher at the school for more than 10 years. “Staff are getting burned out and a lot are leaving for other work,” said Francis, noting that many of the students have severe needs and the work can be challenging. Other concerns include safe staffing, having a say in classroom issues, better resources for students and improved pay and benefits.
Staffers also hope affiliation will bring greater respect for what they do. “Since we teach daily living life skills, instead of English or math like at traditional schools, some think of us as a specialized daycare, but we are real teachers,” said Francis. “It’s macro teaching and often more difficult that just sitting kids down and teaching them subjects … people don’t understand that.”

“Mary Cariola staff leadership held mandatory ‘strategic planning meetings’ where they outlined why workers didn’t need a union,” said Jennifer Kaseman, NYSUT director of membership growth and organizing. “They also held union ‘information meetings’ staffed by supervisors two to three times a week up until the election.”
Staffers reported hearing administrative claims that: only 44 percent of unions reach a first contract; unionized staff can’t raise issues with supervisory staff; NYSUT lacks lobbying power; and worker raises wouldn’t offset their union dues.
“These statements are false and possibly a violation of labor law since they indicate that Mary Cariola doesn’t intend to bargain in good faith once the workers organize,” said Kaseman, noting that the local hopes to begin bargaining its first contract in January.
The school further interfered with the employees’ rights to unionize by sending out at least three “FAQs” that raised doubts about the skills of union negotiators. School leaders also made material misrepresentations about the election process and threatened staff with possible layoffs and the loss of existing benefits, such as flextime, if they unionized.
The pushback caught Francis off guard since the educators had always had a supportive relationship with administrators. “We never said we needed a union because the administration was failing us … we believed they were doing the best they could in a broken system,” he said.
Despite the difficulties, Francis enjoyed the organizing process. “With many teachers, organizing was the first time I had a conversation with them,” he said. “I feel closer to my colleagues after this … hearing their stories and learning more about them and their needs has been stressful, but very empowering.”