Workers in Ashburnham and Marlborough are the latest to join SEIU Local 888. In August, approximately 20 DPW, Water and Sewer employees who work for the Town of Ashburnham officially became part of the Local 888 family. The workers made the decision to join after speaking with Local 888 members in other cities and towns. “They decided that their best shot at having a long overdue voice at work was to be part of a union,” says Local 888 organizing director Karen “Rudy” Renaud. Another 80 employees of the Marlborough Public Schools have also formed a union. The Applied Behavioral Analysts or ABAs decided to follow the lead of the paraprofessionals in the schools there who are already united in Local 888. Members of the new union will meet later this month to elect a bargaining committee to begin negotiating their very first contract. Renaud says that for both new groups, the issue of a voice at work was paramount. “In Ashburnham and Marlborough, these workers reached the same conclusion: ‘Enough with the unilateral changes to our working conditions. We need a say.’” Congratulations to the newest members of Local 888.