Teaching Assistants Write Letters of Woe to Board of Education
A union official who represents Chicago teacher assistants and other support staff pleaded with the district to negotiate a fair contract.
“Since the last board meeting we have had little to no progress in contract negotiations,” said SEIU Local 73 Executive VP Stacia Scott who represents 11,000 support staff in Chicago, including custodians, security officers, bus aides, special education teacher assistants, and crossing guards. “This dragging your heels has driven our support staff further into financial debt and crises.”
Expectations are high for union people in the City of Chicago after Mayor Brandon Johnson negotiated a sweet contract for the Chicago Police Union that included a 5 percent raise.
However, the City is playing hardball with the lowest paid workers whose contract expired on June 30, 2023. They did not receive a cost of living increase this year to live in a city that is getting more expensive each day.
“It’s not a game, these are real public service servants' livelihoods hanging in the balance,” Scott told trustees at the January 25, 2024 Chicago Board of Education Meeting. “Support staff are the backbone of Chicago Public Schools. And yet they’re underpaid and undervalued. This district has to prioritize support staff.”
She added that low wages and poor working conditions contribute to recruitment and retention issues in which there are one in ten vacancies.
Scott then read out loud heart-breaking letters from her union members about how they have been affected. She submitted 200 testimonies to the Board Members.
“I live check to check. I can’t even buy groceries. I’ve had to borrow money from my family to pay the mortgage or to pay for my necessary medicines.” - Michelle, SECA, 20 years at CPS.
“It’s been pretty hard making ends meet. Sometimes I need gas for my car and I can’t come to work. When I need to go to the doctor I can’t afford the co-payments. Do I go to work knowing that I need to see the doctor? But I go to work in pain anyway. This raise would greatly help me.” - Carmen, SECA, 6 years of service.
“I have to decide which bills to pay when we have a shorter check.. I have to make hard decisions with credit cards to feed my family. I have gone into debt and I’m having a very hard time paying off my debt. I’m currently living paycheck to paycheck. I cannot give my children what they need to live a healthy life because the wages don’t allow me to. If I could get a meaningful raise then I could afford hospital and dental visits and life would be less stressful. Right now I have no savings.” - Jessica, SECA, 2 years of service.
“I pray there are no emergencies like car repairs. I’m constantly in debt and pay with credit cards.. Sometimes I can’t pay rent, I have a medical condition.. I usually have to borrow money. Sometimes I can’t afford to get my kids gifts during Christmas.” - 12 year SECA.
The Chicago Teachers Union contract will expire June 30, 2024.
The end of the meeting featured about 10 aldermen who split on supporting or opposing the school district’s School Safety Plan to remove police or School Resource Officers (SRO’s) from all the schools.
Alderman Chris Taliaferro (29th Ward) said the decision to keep or remove SRO’s should be made by the Local School Council. Ald. Ruth Cruz (30th Ward) said a parent came to her house and showed videos of fighting inside Foreman. She too said it should be up to the school and the principal if they need an SRO officer in the school.
Ald. Rossanna Rodriguez-Sanchez (33 Ward) spoke against SROs because the focus should be on addressing the social and emotional needs of the students. She spoke about Roosevelt High School that once had a high incidence of violence and suspensions, but after they created the restorative justice program suspensions decreased by 60 percent (It should be added that creeping gentrification has also played a role). Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) said he attended four different schools in the city because of gentrification, but having a police officer in the school was not a solution because it takes them away from other areas of the city. Ald. Maria Hadden (49th Ward) said safety is about the whole community and the SRO in schools cannot prevent violence.
Board President Jianan Shi said they will talk about removing SROs from all Chicago Public Schools at next month’s board meeting.