Sign up for Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter to keep up with the latest news on Chicago Public Schools.
Chicago Public Schools’ lunchroom workers are taking steps toward a possible strike, their union announced Thursday.
Unite Here Local 1 delivered a letter to the school district Thursday asking to start a fact-finding process in its year-long contract negotiations. In that process, a fact-finder that’s a third party reviews each side’s argument and issues their findings. According to state law, school district workers can’t go on strike until at least 30 days after a fact-finding report has been publicly released.
The escalation comes as the school board is poised to vote on the district’s nearly $10 billion budget plan for the 2026-27 school year, which includes layoffs and other program cuts. Earlier this week, officials revised the plan to eliminate five furlough days for all staff.
A Chalkbeat analysis of the budget plan found lunchroom funds are poised to shrink slightly and some vacant lunchroom positions are set to be eliminated. Unite Here Local 1 represents roughly 1,800 lunch workers in CPS.
During remarks to the board on Thursday, Tawanda Murray, an executive board member of the union, highlighted a union survey of lunchroom workers last year that found 47% of respondents reported struggling to pay for housing, and 22% said their families rely on food pantries.
Last year, CPS reduced kitchen workers and told families that students would get more cold meals and simplified menus.
The union is pushing the district to raise pay for lunchroom workers to at least $40,000 annually and staff up school kitchens. In April, Chicago Police cited about two dozen lunchroom workers during a planned act of civil disobedience in order to raise awareness about its demands.
On Thursday, workers picketed outside of the Board of Education headquarters downtown in front of a giant inflatable rat, a longstanding feature of union rallies.
Jesse Hernandez, a cook at Columbia Explorers Academy, said he makes $24 an hour and has about $300 left in his paycheck after he pays his bills.
He said bartends on the weekends to make ends meet and wishes he had more time to spend with his grandchildren. He said he’s moving soon because he can’t afford his current apartment.
Hernandez said he’s prepared to go on strike in order to secure more pay for himself and his colleagues, adding that his coworkers who are lunchroom assistants are earning closer to $17 an hour.
“That’s why I’m here, fighting for them and for myself,” Hernandez said.
CPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Becky Vevea contributed reporting.
Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.
