LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Michigan Education Association (MEA) public school employees’ union has long fought the privatization efforts of public school employees to hire contractor to provide non-education services such as janitorial work.
In December, the MEA published on its website a story about Petoskey Schools no longer using a private contractor for janitorial services. Instead, starting Jan. 1, all new janitorial employees will be hired as school-district employees and be represented by a MEA affiliated union. The MEA applauded the move.
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However, it is not a practice the Michigan Education Association follows for its own business. Instead, the private union hires contractors to provide janitorial services for its own office and events, a long-standing practice for the union.
According to documents the MEA filed with the federal government, in 2024, the MEA spent $177,666 on 11 private companies that provide janitorial services.
The MEA paid one private janitorial company $74,145 over the course of 12 months in 2023-24 that was based in Lansing. The MEA’s home office is in nearby East Lansing.
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