PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Contracts for 1,900 school food service and climate staff members expire at the end of the month, and they’re asking the School District of Philadelphia for better terms this time around.
Nicole Hunt, president of Unite Here Local 634, says a majority of their union members who work in school cafeterias and as aides earn $15.50 an hour or less, and often need to work two or three jobs to make ends meet.
“They just offered us 2.5% [wage increase], but they also want us to pay for medical benefits. So that wipes out the wage right there,” said Hunt, who added they’re also asking for basic equipment.
“We've asking for working walkie talkies. That's something we should not have to negotiate, working walkie talkies.”
Hunt said staff need to build the skills to do their jobs safely as well. “We asked for de-escalation training and conflict resolution. The school district gets quiet on it.”
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The union’s general counsel, Deborah Willig, says what they’re asking for amounts to just under $10 million collectively over three years. “Last year alone they spent $11.5 million in consulting contracts, and they paid
$450,000 to tell the superintendent how to do his job," she said.
Lead organizer Kiara Coleman pointed out that workers did not get a raise during the pandemic. “A lot of our workers are parents of children in the Philly public schools,” she said.
“Oftentimes those children are shortchanged but when you shortchange their parents on top of that, that perpetuates a never-ending cycle of poverty and we just want a fair opportunity to be able to provide for our families and those children.”
Several lawmakers support the union, including Pennsylvania state Sen. Vincent Hughes. “We're here to politely urge the folks in power to do the right thing,” Hughes said, “but as time goes on, the conversations don't go correctly, that politeness will change.”
In a statement, the district said it’s been negotiating with the union for several months. “We continue to work diligently to reach an agreement on a successor collective bargaining agreement,” said a spokesperson, “and we are optimistic that we will do so with our union partners before the current agreement expires on Sept. 30.”