I walked over and extended my hand to him. I had just finished placing my coffee order when I noticed Jason. He managed an ‘after market’ truck accessories shop, at which I had made a couple of purchases. He also worked part time repairing appliances on his own time, after work and on weekends. As he extended his hand, after juggling his own order, and a book in his hand, (a repair manual?) I couldn’t help but notice his cracked, black stained, hands. As I shook his hand, and acknowledged him by his first name, I added, “Working man’s hands.” I found his response to be disturbing and also, discouraging. He replied that just earlier that morning, another male individual had pulled his hand back when he noticed Jason’s hands. I am not going to speculate what that individual was thinking. I just thought…. this guy works hard for a living.

I reassured him that it was an honor and privilege to shake his hand, because he and others like him have kept our vehicles on the road to get to our jobs (blue collar or white) and have kept older appliances running longer for those that can not afford new ones. But more importantly, I told him, he reminded me of my father, an aircraft mechanic, who worked, and worked hard, and worked many overtime hours to provide for his family. I thanked him again, and then I looked at my hands. He wore his work, took it with him wherever he went, and there was no doubt, and no mistake, he took his work home with him.

However, in this economy, hard work has not been able to save or guarantee you a job, no matter what the work is. Hard work may allow you to hustle down two, or even three, part-time jobs to carry you over until the economy improves. But again, there are no guarantees in today’s marketplace. And I believe unions, as hard as they have tried, have not even been able to secure and guarantee jobs. One would only need to look as far as the auto industry to see that the reality of working one job for 20 or 30 years, with salary increases and benefits, has become obsolete, just as certain models of vehicles have. I, on the other hand, have been very fortunate to have had the same profession for the last 35 years, with salary increases and no loss of benefits. That, I believe, will be the exception in the future. In fact, it most likely will never happen again. I am extremely thankful and grateful for the union I belong to that has continually bargained for our members to secure a fair and equitable salary and benefits package to attract and retain high-quality teachers. Yet I recognize that another union organization is currently in negotiations to provide their members a living wage.

And they have been working without a new contract for more than 100 days. Those individuals are the classified employees (CEA) of our Mat–Su School District. They are the individuals who open our schools in the early mornings, clear sidewalks of snow if needed, turn on the lights, check if we have heat during our cold winters, and fire up that most important coffee machine. But their duties don’t stop here. They actually have just begun, and continue throughout the day. We have secretaries and instructional aides that do all the clerical work that we so desperately depend on every day and could not operate our schools without them. There are nutrition service personnel and maintenance staff who are part of that hard working group of people. Our schools run and function smoothly because of all their dedication and commitment to their jobs.

Yet some of them have had to seek out support using food banks, or their own children have had to go on free or reduced lunch, and some have even had to take on second or third jobs. These second or third jobs allow them to provide for the basic needs of their own families. They are not being paid a living wage high enough to meet the demands of everyday life.

And they provide so much more than just maintaining our buildings, making copies and answering the phone. They are the janitors, support staff and instructional aides that come face to face with our students, parents and community in our public schools every day. I know they support our students in ways that are unique, with those sincere relationships necessary for some students to be successful. They are ready to jump in and give an extra hand for teachers’ special projects and events. They come from all sides, at all times, to supplement our children’s education. They deserve a living wage that reflects the valuable work ,which allows learning and achievement to continue in my, and all, classrooms across our community. I personally want to thank them for their hands-on attitude, which makes my job so much easier.

Michael P. Carson is a resident of Palmer.