‘I just need my money now’: Philly schools’ lowest-paid workers are asking for more

Tanya Edmonds has prepared and served students thousands of meals over 20 years working in Philadelphia schools. She makes $17.79 an hour.

“I’m definitely feeding breakfast and lunch to children and cannot feed my own children at home,” said Edmonds, a food services manager at Henry Houston Elementary in West Mount Airy.

Edmonds is one of 1,900 members of Unite Here Local 634, the union that represents Philadelphia School District cafeteria workers as well as climate staffers — workers who monitor and support student behavior in hallways and playgrounds.

The union’s contract expires Sept. 30; workers recently authorized a strike, and leaders say they are prepared to call one if the district does not do better at the bargaining table.

Most 634 members are paid $15.50 an hour, among the lowest in the district, and many do not reach the five-hour minimum workday that provides them health insurance. And unlike other school system unions, 634 workers have no “steps,” meaning they are not credited for years of experience.

Local 634 wants $1.50 an hour raises for members, but was told that this was “not feasible,” union officials said. They also asked for training, including de-escalation instruction for climate staff, and for those employees to be equipped with walkie-talkies. Most climate workers are now expected to use their own cell phones to call for help and communicate with other school staff.

Local 634 wants $1.50 an hour raises for members, but was told that this was “not feasible,” union officials said. They also asked for training, including de-escalation instruction for climate staff, and for those employees to be equipped with walkie-talkies. Most climate workers are now expected to use their own cell phones to call for help and communicate with other school staff.

District leaders say they believe a strike can be avoided.

“We continue to work diligently to reach an agreement on a successor collective bargaining agreement and we are optimistic that we will do so with our union partners before the current agreement expires on September 30,” school district spokesperson Monique Braxton has said in a statement.

Edmonds runs a full-service kitchen, meaning she prepares fresh food, rather than serving meals made elsewhere. One day this week, she learned she had to start making 60 meals for an after-school program in addition to the 200 breakfasts and lunches she makes daily. A food delivery had to be handled during meal service. She and her two food service coworkers handled trash and ensured that students with allergies weren’t served foods that could make them sick.

“I’m doing what I have to do for these kids, but they’re asking us for a lot,” said Edmonds. “When they get the food, the kids don’t know what Ms. Tanya’s dealing with.”

What she serves to her students matters a great deal to Edmonds, who put her kids through Philadelphia schools and now has grandchildren in the district. She puts her heart into making appetizing salads and sandwiches children will gobble up. Even if she’s serving frozen pizza, “I don’t just throw it in, half burn it. When it comes out, I throw a little oregano on it. You do a little extra — the children make me want to do more.”

It shows. Just two weeks into the school year, a first grader approached Edmonds with a white ceramic pumpkin and a card: “Thank you for giving me breakfast. Love, Grace.” Edmonds keeps the card in her purse.

Her students’ love is meaningful, but Edmonds needs more, she said. She’s tired of bringing in her own knives because the district doesn’t sharpen the ones it gives her. She’s tired of bringing home a too-small check.

“I’m at the point I just need my money now,” said Edmonds. “I need to be paid what I’m worth.”

The majority of 634 workers are female and Black and live in Philadelphia, unlike many other district workers. Most have to hold two or three jobs to make ends meet, and some can’t even pay for stable places to live, said Nicole Hunt, the union president.

Such workers are often appointed for three- or four-hour shifts, which keep them from getting health care, but their hours are split up in the day, making it tough to get another job. Some workers are told they can’t stay in the building when they’re off the clock.

For years, schools employed “non-teaching assistants,” who belonged to the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, to handle climate work. But over the years, the district stopped hiring NTAs, who were full-time, 10-month employees, and instead shifted to using cheaper 634 members under the “school climate staff” job classification.

Hunt said climate staff receives little to no training and are sometimes asked by principals to perform work not in their job description: She’s received calls from members being told they have to serve as one-on-one aides for students with special needs, perform office work, or even change diapers of medically fragile students.

“There’s no training, there’s no explanation of what your job’s going to be,” said Hunt.

Under 634′s current contract, food service workers have a six-month probationary period and climate staff have a three-month period in which they’re paid 93% of their salary; the union wants to reduce that time. The district wants to lengthen it.

For years, Edmonds has remained at her job because she loves cooking, loves being Ms. Tanya to her students.

But when a colleague showed her a story about California fast-food workers winning a $20 minimum wage, Edmonds paused.

“I said, ‘Look, I’m getting ready to flip some burgers at McDonald’s,’” said Edmonds. “I never thought about leaving the district. But I want to really talk the talk, rock with them babies. I’ve got to stick with them.”

Negotiations between 634 and the district are scheduled to resume Friday.