CPS lunchroom workers say wages are so low they can barely feed their own families

More than 100 Chicago Public Schools lunchroom workers picketed outside the district's Downtown headquarters Monday morning demanding a new contract, higher wages and fully staffed kitchens.

Wearing a black hoodie with white lettering that read, “We feed Chicago’s Children,” Irma Garcia was one of them.

Garcia, a cook at Lowell Elementary School in Humboldt Park, has worked for CPS for 23 years.

But she said her wages are so low, she can barely feed her own family.

“I have been to the food bank twice. Groceries cost too much that sometimes I must choose between food or bills,” Garcia said. “We want the board to treat us with dignity, respect — not with the low pay.”

Unionized lunchroom workers, who are represented by Unite Here Local 1, have been working without a contract for more than three months.

According to the union, lunchroom workers are the lowest-paid workers for CPS, with a vast majority making $18.42 or less an hour, with entry level workers paid minimum wage. The average salary of a lunchroom worker is $31,000. They work about 35 hours per week during the school year.

In a statement, a CPS spokesperson said the school district “leadership recognizes the essential role that lunchroom staff play in each school’s daily success by providing nutritious meals and creating a welcoming environment where students and staff can thrive.”

CPS officials said they plan to meet with the union on Tuesday “to move closer to a final agreement that advances the District’s objectives and ensures fair compensation for employees.”

In a survey conducted last month by the union, nearly half of lunchroom workers said they struggle to afford basic necessities, with 67% having trouble paying for food in the last three months.

Union organizing director Patrick Griffin said CPS recently won national awards from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its nutritional program at its 630 schools, serving 270,000 meals every day for more than 316,000 students.

“These are programs built off the backs of our lunchroom workers. Yet these workers still struggle to feed themselves and their families,” Griffin said.

Staffing levels have also been cut over the years by CPS. According to the union, there were 3,240 lunchroom workers in 2005. Today, there are 1,805 workers, a 44% decrease. Workers say kitchens are no longer staffed with enough workers to make most meals from scratch. Faced with a major budget deficit this year, CPS this summer eliminated about 250 vacant lunchroom positions.

Another lunchroom worker, Michael Hopkins, a porter at Oscar DePriest Elementary School on the city’s West Side, said he’s been with the district for more than two years.

“We don't get the respect we deserve from the Board of Education. We are overworked because of low staff and underpaid to do the work we do,” Hopkins said at the protest. “I get off from work, and I stand in a food pantry line. It's exhausting. If I made the money I need, I'd be able to go to restaurants to have a good meal and not worry about my basic needs. During these times in Chicago, we should be sticking together, but the Board of Education did not have our backs.”

Michael Puente is a reporter and weekend anchor for WBEZ. Reach him at mpuente@wbez.org.