Orsola Bonilla

"When the pipes in our new school building malfunctioned and we didn’t have any water, the union was a continual support..."

By #UnionProud Stories

March 3^rd, 2016

BY orsola bonilla

When the pipes in our new school building malfunctioned and we didn’t have any water, the union was a continual support.

Two years ago, the ESL teacher in our school turned the water on in his room and it was coming out of the faucet blue — like a deep, sky blue. Initially, we got a big runaround from the School Construction Authority. But the union was extremely supportive.

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The color of the water coming out of the faucet at PS 163

I needed to know what was in the water, what my kids and the teachers were drinking. But I’m a guidance counselor, not a chemist. So the union sent people who knew what questions needed to be asked and what testing needed to be done. They gave me a report and sat with me at meetings with School Construction to make sure they understood what needed to happen.

The testing found levels of lead and particles from sewage. So we couldn’t drink the water or use it to wash our hands for more than a year. We had to bring in coolers, bottled water, wipes.

The union was able to push the right buttons to get what we needed and was also there in terms of emotional support. Eventually School Construction had to put in new pipes and reconnect them. I truly believe if the UFT hadn’t gotten involved, we would still be dealing with it.

Orsola Bonilla is a guidance counselor and chapter leader at PS 163 in Brooklyn

Footnotes

Photo by Maria Bastone

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Photo by Maria Bastone

Shalca Nelson

Orsola Bonilla

"When the pipes in our new school building malfunctioned and we didn’t have any water, the union was a continual support..."

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