Portland Public Schools workers have rallied repeatedly outside of schools and district buildings to press the state’s largest district over their working situations in the course of the coronavirus pandemic. On Wednesday afternoon, union staff once more pressed PPS to satisfy their calls for at a rally exterior Beaumont Middle School in Northeast Portland.
PPS custodians and diet service staff are represented by the Service Employees International Union. The essential factor they’re negotiating is a one-time $1500 hazard fee for diet service staff.
PPS workers rallied exterior of Beaumont Middle School Wednesday, April 7, for hazard pay for diet service workers.
Courtesy of SEIU
Amy Silvia is a co-chair of Local 140, the SEIU chapter representing PPS workers, and is herself a diet companies employee.
“We want some help, we have to really feel revered and like our voices matter,” Silvia mentioned.
“I believe lots of people don’t notice diet companies did have their hours minimize,” Silvia mentioned. She mentioned not all workers skilled this.
PPS mentioned it has made “each effort” to take care of hours for diet service staff. In a press release to OPB, the district mentioned SEIU workers have acquired raises, and no workers have been laid off “throughout this time.”
“Employees have continued to accrue paid break day at their common charges, pre-pandemic FTE charges, and advantages have been maintained,” mentioned the district. “Every effort has been made to broaden meal companies so we might serve extra households in the course of the pandemic and mitigate any discount to diet service hours.”
The union and the district met for a bargaining session final Friday. Silvia mentioned the district agreed to speak with the union, and go to meal websites across the district to ensure they’re in exterior areas which can be comfy and protected from the weather. But there was no settlement on hazard pay.
“It was type of only a massive waste of time,” Silvia mentioned. “They’re not taking us critically.”
The dialog between the events continues as 1000’s of Portland college students are back at school buildings after greater than a 12 months away.
Students attending faculty in-person get lunch in a “seize and go” setting. For Silvia, who works at Maplewood Elementary in southwest Portland, it’s not clear but what number of meals employees will serve. She’s heard from colleagues across the district who’ve had different employees soar in to assist diet companies.
“We’re serving much more meals with much less employees,” Silvia mentioned.
The union additionally continues to ask for extra everlasting union custodians and quarantine pay for workers who have to isolate.
There is one other bargaining session scheduled for April 20, Silvia mentioned.
