On Nov. 13th, U.S. Senate candidate Mike Ciresi joined SEIU member Mark Scherbing during his shift as a custodian at Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, where he cleaned classrooms and performed other maintenance tasks.
Ciresi “walked a day in the shoes” of Scherbing as part of SEIU’s program to ensure that candidates running for political office experience firsthand what life is like for working people.
Ciresi is the second Senate candidate to do so. In October, fellow Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken walked a day in the shoes of a Robbinsdale nursing home worker.
SEIU members across the country have begun inviting candidates for races from Mayor to Governor to learn what it is like to work and raise a family in America.
TELL CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR POLITICAL OFFICE WHAT LIFE IS LIKE IN YOUR SHOES »
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- SEIU’s video on YouTube
- Scherbing’s reaction to the day
- Press release
- Minnesota Public Radio coverage
Mark Scherbing: “It’s important to me, as a custodian and a parent, that candidates see the hard work we do to keep our school running and the real challenges our district faces in providing kids the quality education they need. Every year there’s less money for our schools—that means more crowded classrooms, and fewer custodians, teachers, and bus drivers for a growing number of students.”
Scherbing has been a custodian in Sauk Rapids for six years. Starting as a boiler technician, he’s had to take on more custodial duties as the district continues to lose money and as a staff of about nine for the evening shift has been reduced to three.
The school is so short staffed, it’s impossible to clean all of the classrooms, bathrooms, lunchroom, and other areas each night. Mark and his coworkers clean even numbered rooms on the even numbered days of the month, and odd numbered rooms on the others.
“[T]oo often we can’t get to all of the maintenance requests that keep the school running. Our elected officials need to be doing more to ensure our kids have a safe and effective place to learn.”
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