Help Rooted School Employees Rebuild After Layoffs

On the day we were notified we no longer had jobs at Rooted School, our union had already spent 5 hours bargaining with management on a broad range of topics as part of bargaining our first union contract–including layoff language. It was not until after that session ended, and after our work day finished, that management notified the four of us–Ashley Jones, Jerome Morgan, Shalin Walker, and Christine Collins–that we were being “laid off” and would no longer be employees of Rooted School.

The school has insisted that this was absolutely necessary because of a NOLA Public Schools budget shortfall, but no other school in New Orleans has taken such a drastic step. As a result, we have been uprooted from our tight-knit school community–a community that continues to demand that management bring us back–and the Rooted Four have been left out in the cold.

In addition to not being able to fulfill our obligations to our school community, we are also facing tremendous financial burdens at home. Since our layoffs, Ms. Walker has had her lights turned off; Jerome, the sole breadwinner of his family of four, has no means to provide for them; Ms. Collins, who is currently unable to look for work due to injuries sustained on the job, has no job to return to. I, Ashley, an insulin-dependent diabetic, am down to my last insulin pen. All of this has taken place right before the most expensive part of the year: the holiday season.

We wish we didn't have to do this, but we need your help to get us through our fight to return to the school we love. We have set a goal of $40,000 ($10,000 per person) which is close to six weeks of missing income. This will lessen our hardships as we pick up the pieces and move toward the coming new year.

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