17.0 Custodial Positions

17.1 Transfers

17.1.1 Whenever, in the judgment of the Director of Custodial Services, it is for the best interest of the service, a classified employee holding permanent appointment in a regular Civil Service position in one school may, upon their written request, be transferred to a position of the same Civil Service classification in another school.

17.1.2 In making a transfer under this procedure, all other things being equal, preference shall be given to the employee who has the longest service as a permanent employee of the School District.

17.1.3 The District agrees to post and accept bids once a year on all vacant positions to be filled. A waiting period of two (2) weeks after such posting will be observed, during which time applicants may apply in writing to the Director of Custodial Services for vacancies.

17.1.4 Executive Director of Facilities Services or their designee shall be given an opportunity to interview candidates for vacancies. The transfer shall be made effective at the proper time unless disapproved for cause by both the principal and the Director of Custodial Services Executive Director of Facilities Services or their designee.

17.1.5 Such a transferee shall not be entitled to more than one transfer in any school year except under special permission of the Director of Custodial Services.

17.1.6 Any transfer necessitated for the good of the service shall be made based upon program needs, affirmative action and seniority. All things being equal, seniority will be the governing factor.

17.2 Temporary Changes

Temporary changes in shift assignment will be made based upon program needs and seniority. All things being equal, changes shall be made in inverse order of seniority.

17.3 Reporting Time

The Union and the District agree that the reporting time for Custodians working in schools with three (3) or more custodians on both the day and swing shift shall, unless mutually agreeable to the Department and the employee, be the same during the Winter and Spring vacations as it is regularly.

17.4 In-Year Vacations for Custodians

17.4.1 The District shall provide up to 35 in-year vacations per year, exclusive of the blackout periods at the beginning and end of the student instructional calendar. “In-year,” as used herein shall mean the period between on or about October 1st and on or about May 15th of any school year.

17.4.2 Custodians may submit a written request for an in-year vacation.

17.4.3 Provided that District efficiency is not adversely impacted, in-year vacation requests (as described herein) may be approved.

17.4.4 Approvals will be based on District seniority, as excepted as provided for below; ties in seniority will be broken by lot.

17.4.5 After an eligible custodian has received an in-year vacation, they shall drop to the bottom of the seniority list when future requests are being considered.

17.4.5.1 If more in-year vacations are requested than can be granted, as contemplated herein, preference will be given to “most senior” custodians who have not previously been granted in-year vacation.

17.4.5.2 “Most Senior” as used herein, shall be calculated as follows:

17.4.5.2.1 All District custodians, other than as-needed, shall be ranked on the basis of District hire date.

17.4.5.2.2 Those custodians in the upper half of said ranking shall be considered “most senior.”

17.4.6 Notwithstanding any other provision contained herein, not more than one (1) eligible custodian at any job site may be on an in-year vacation at any given time.

17.4.7 Nothing contained herein shall be construed to eliminate custodial vacations during recesses.

17.4.8 Custodial vacations will generally not be approved during the following blackout periods:

a. Two weeks before the last day of school

b. The date the site administrators report for duty through two weeks after the first instructional day.

17.5 Annual Bidding Process for the Upcoming School Year

17.5.1 Every year, all known open positions for the upcoming school year shall be filled using a bidding

process that includes three major steps:

a. Building the List of Openings by Site,

b. Submitting Choices, and

c. Filling Open Positions.

At each step in the process, Custodial management shall provide packets of written information to all

Custodial employees, which shall be made available in English, Chinese, Spanish, and Tagalog.

Employees will be notified of their assignment for the upcoming school year before the end of the current

school year.

17.5.1.1 Building the List of Openings

17.5.1.2 Every spring Custodial management shall post a list of open biddable positions available.

17.5.1.3 The Bidding Packet shall include language to help employees understand some of the implications of participating.in the bidding process.

For example

a. Employees who receive their new assignment via the bidding process shall be giving up

their current year assignment.

b. Employees shall receive their choice in seniority order.

17.5.1.4 Seniority List Sorted by Total Seniority

Custodial management shall send the Seniority List of all Custodial employees upon request.

17.5.1.5 List of Open (biddable) Positions

A position shall be considered open for bidding for the coming school year if:

a it is a new position;

b. the regularly scheduled employee has indicated that they are not planning to work in Custodial in the coming school year; or

c. there is no regularly scheduled employee in the position (including positions which were vacated during the school year and currently filled by temporarily assigned employees).

17.5.2 Submitting Choices

Custodial management shall provide all employees participating in the bidding process for the coming school year with a Bidding Form asking them to list their top choices and to return the Form within a two-week time frame.

17.5.2.1 The Bidding Form shall include the name of the school and the hours for all positions.

17.5.2.2 Each employee shall have the option of listing up to five choices in order of priority on the Bidding Form, and may include their current position as one of their choices.

17.5.3 Filling Open Positions

17.5.3.1 Positions shall be filled based on Seniority, and Custodial management shall make every effort to assign all employees to their highest ranked choice.

17.5.32. Custodial management shall create a list of employees who have submitted a Bidding Form and sorted it in order from highest to lowest seniority. If employees have the same seniority date, the last three digits of their social security number will be used as a tie-breaker with the three-digit number ranked the highest.

17.5.3.3 The employee ranked highest on the list noted above shall be assigned to their highest ranked choice with an opening. Then the next person on the list shall be assigned to their highest ranked choice with an opening, and th.is process shall be repeated until every employee’s Bidding Form has been reviewed.

17.5.3.4 Employees who are not assigned to one of their choices via the foregoing process shall remain in their current assignment.

17.5.3.5 Before the end of the current school year, Custodial management shall notify all impacted employees of their new assignment.

17.2.3.6 Custodial management shall provide copies of the following to the Union:

a. packets of written information sent to Custodial employees;

b. a ranked list of employees who submitted a Bidding Form that is used to fill openings via the bidding process;

c. a list of employees who did not get assigned to one of their choices via the bidding process;

d. list of all assignment offers from the bidding process; and

e. a list of each worker’s bids.

17.6 Custodial Recycling and Other Duties

17. 6.1 Custodians in the normal course of their duties will handle and remove from the classroom material already set aside for recycling; however, recycling and composting programs at District sites shall not be the work/responsibility of the custodian(s). Custodians will not be expected to sort compostable or recyclable items that have been placed in the trash.

17.7 Transporting of Furniture

Where it can be performed safely, a custodian may move furniture between rooms on a floor of the school, so long as they are provided with the appropriate equipment. When furniture needs to be moved between floors, between buildings, or if the custodians do not have the training or equipment to perform the work safely, a work order shall be placed by the supervisor to have warehouse workers perform the work.

17.8 Asbestos Safety

The District shall comply with the annual training requirements provided for in Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1987 and Cal-OSHA Hazardous Communications.

17.9 Custodial Work – Supervision & Duties

When a custodian at any school site receives multiple or conflicting requests for services at the same time, the custodian may request direction on how to proceed from the site administrator or designee. If a site administrator or designee is not available, the custodian will request direction from the custodial supervisor.

17.9.1 Custodians will not be required to load or unload the personal items of any District employee. Custodians shall not be required to clean skylights or exterior windows. No custodian shall be required to work on any ladder over 12 feet.

17.9.2 Custodial Substitute Duties

If the department is unable to cover an absent custodian’s entire shift, the custodial supervisor will provide a written abbreviated, prioritized run appropriate to the number of hours that will be performed. The department will maintain a file of these abbreviated runs for reference and efficient service and make them available for inspection by the Union.

17.10 Work Pursuant to a Permit

When a custodian works a shift pursuant to a facilities use permit, during the regular Monday through Friday workweek, the primary job of that custodian will be to serve the needs of the permitted activity. Additional assignments may be given to the custodian so long as they do not interfere with providing service to the permit holder.

When the SFUSD Real Estate office approves a permit assigned to a school site for either a school or an outside event/function, the assigned site custodian shall not be unreasonably burdened with extra work created by the event described in the permit.

In the event that custodial management determines that additional custodial work will be necessary due to the permit, overtime may be offered based on seniority.

Said additional work shall be first offered as overtime for sector custodians. This overtime shall be assigned via the sector seniority outlined in this agreement. Overtime opportunities will be offered to the sector custodians based on the sector overtime wheel. The corresponding sector Supervisor or Assistant Supervisor shall cover this work if all sector custodians decline the work.

If additional support is not available, the custodian shall adjust their daily duties to complete critical health and safety tasks and attend to the highest needs of the site as determined by custodial management.

17.10.1 When a custodian works a shift pursuant to a facilities use permit, the primary job of that custodian shall be to serve the needs of the permitted activity. Additional assignments may be given to the custodian so long as those activities do not interfere with providing service to the permit holder.

17.11 Custodial Supervisors’ Workspaces

17.11.1 The District shall provide, through custodial services, one reporting site for both the custodial supervisor and assistant supervisor in each sector. This site can be located at either Toland or at a District site within their sector.

17.11.2 The District shall provide a current model desktop or laptop with wifi capabilities as well as a printer to be used during the working day at all custodial supervisor & assistant supervisor work locations.

17.12 Overtime Procedures

Once overtime is assigned by the manager/ management to the supervisor(s), the supervisor(s) shall assign overtime to employee(s) in their respective sector(s) (based on rotating seniority). The employee(s) shall work the overtime and then fill out the prescribed form (which may be either digital or hardcopy). The employee shall then submit (in digital or hardcopy) the overtime form within the same pay period worked to their supervisor. In the event a supervisor does not collect forms in a timely manner, the employee has the right to deliver the form personally to the custodial services office. The supervisor(s) shall then approve the overtime and submit (in digital or hardcopy) the form(s) to the manager for approval and processing. The overtime shall be paid within the same pay period but no later than two (2) pay periods from when the overtime was completed.

17.13 Handbook

The policies stated in the custodial handbook shall not contradict an expressed term of this Agreement. The District will forward a copy of the handbook to the Union in advance for its reaction and input. Should the District not update the custodial handbook in a timely manner, the terms of this contract shall supersede the version of the handbook currently in use.