CPS agrees to raise wages of ‘lowest paid workers’, in a new, four-year agreement with SEIU Local 73

SEIU Local 73 member Tanya Dumas, a special education classroom assistant, picks up picket signs of a pending strike, at the Chicago Teachers Union Center on Oct. 16, 2019, in Chicago. After a year of negotiations, Chicago Public Schools and SEIU Local 73, representing around 11,000 district support staffers, have reached a new, tentative four-year agreement, which CPS announced in a press release Wednesday night.

The tentative agreement establishes a minimum $40,000 baseline salary for full-time support staff and 4% retroactive pay increases this school year and next, with 4-5% increases, dependent on the Consumer Price Index, in the remaining two years of the contract, CPS said. With security officers starting at $33,000 a year, special education classroom assistants starting at $37,000 and custodians at $16.80 per hour, Scott Kennedy told the Board in March that members often seek help accessing government assistance, including homeless services.

“You cannot balance the school district’s budget on the backs of your lowest paid workers,” Scott Kennedy said, noting one out of every 10 support staff positions at the time were vacant. “Part of why you cannot fill them is because people can’t afford to take the job.”

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Janitors in SEIU Local 1 approve new 3-year contractThe union representing janitors who clean city and suburban office buildings ratified a new contract Saturday for more than 8,000 janitorial workers.
Source: ABC7Chicago - 🏆 284. / 63 Read more »

SEIU Local 1 Chicagoland janitors secure new contracts ahead of deadlineThe agreements were finalized Saturday, a day before the April 7th deadline, after thousands of workers cast their votes.
Source: fox32news - 🏆 547. / 51 Read more »

SEIU janitors rally in Houston for fair wages amid contract negotiationsMore than a hundred janitors took to the streets in downtown Houston to demand higher wages and better benefits as they face imminent contract negotiations.
Source: FOX26Houston - 🏆 448. / 53 Read more »

Paid Juneteenth holiday among contract demands for SEIU security guardsSEIU 32BJ members called on employers to recognize Juneteenth as an official paid holiday, raise wages and retain their healthcare.
Source: NYAmNews - 🏆 269. / 63 Read more »

Positively JAX: Local nonprofit has empowered local families for 20 yearsOur April Positively JAX winner has been making a difference in our community for 20 years.
Source: wjxt4 - 🏆 246. / 63 Read more »

Does local energy and local control translate into lower rates?Instead of the expensive importing of remotely generated energy, a much better solution is to generate power locally.
Source: sdut - 🏆 5. / 95 Read more »