Milan cafeteria workers say they were unfairly laid off
MILAN, Tenn. — Five Milan Elementary School Cafeteria workers said they were unfairly let go after decades of service. One of the women, Barbara Quick, reflects on the many hours she has spent preparing food for students. “The children made my day. You got hugs from them and they knew you by your name,” Quick said. Barbara Quick, Glenda Mullens and Teresa Little are three of five cafeteria workers who were laid off earlier in June. They each say they received a letter with two sentences. They say the vague writing left them with a lot of questions. “I felt devastated. I just had no clue why,” Teresa Little said. “I asked why we were let go when they gave us our letters but I wasn’t given a reason,” Glenda Mullens said. Altogether, the five women have 56 years of service in the Milan Elementary cafeteria. Dr. Mary Reel, the director of schools for Milan Special Schools District, released this statement: “All support staff are ‘at will’ employees and are hired on a year to year basis. We notified them in a timely fashion that their services will no longer be needed. The decision was made for more efficient operations at Milan Special Schools District.” The women say all five of them met with central office employees in April to discuss favoritism in the workplace. They say Dr. Reel was not there. The other two workers who did not attend were not laid off. “We didn’t want anybody to lose their jobs. All we wanted was for things to be fair and for us to be treated fair, that’s all we asked,” Little said. But Dr. Reel said she is not aware of any meeting. “I just feel that it’s wrong. They should at least respect us enough to tell us why,” Mullens said. The three women say all they want now are answers. “That is my love, all I wanted all my life was to work with kids and now it’s gone,” Little said. We also asked Dr. Reel if these cuts were made because of the budget. She declined to comment. Dr. Reel says one of the employees,who worked there 24 years, was able to retire instead of being laid off.
