Local
Chicago school lunch staff win $21 hourly minimum in four-year contract
The Chicago Board of Education approved a four-year deal that raises lunchroom workers’ minimum pay to $21 an hour and includes further increases. The agreement, worth nearly $65 million, follows more than a year of negotiations and averts a potential strike.
Chicago Public Schools lunchroom workers will earn at least $21 an hour under a new contract approved Thursday, Oct. 22, by the Chicago Board of Education, ending more than a year of negotiations and averting a potential strike.
The agreement covers about 1,500 cooks, attendants and other lunchroom employees represented by Unite Here Local 1. It runs from July 2025 through June 2029 and will cost the district nearly $65 million, according to CPS. The district will also make retroactive payments to cover the period since the previous contract expired in June 2025.
The contract sets a new wage structure based on job and years of service. Associate managers can earn up to $27 an hour, CPS said. Workers with 10 years on the job will receive an additional $1 an hour, while those with 20 years will receive an additional $2. All employees are scheduled for a 4% cost-of-living increase next summer and a 2.5% raise in 2028.
Previously, most lunchroom workers earned $18.42 an hour or less, according to the union. A union survey in 2025 found that nearly half of respondents struggled to afford basic necessities and 67% sometimes had difficulty affording food. The survey also found that 22% received SNAP benefits and visited food banks.
Letia Downing-Lowe, a lunchroom attendant at Eli Whitney Elementary for 11 years and a member of the union negotiating team, called the deal a “breath of fresh air.” She said workers feel “more respected” under the agreement.
The union said wages and staffing were major points of contention as CPS reduced its lunchroom workforce while facing budget deficits. Downing-Lowe said she hopes higher pay will help the district attract new employees and rebuild staffing levels.
Negotiations grew increasingly tense in recent months. In April, workers staged civil disobedience outside CPS headquarters, and several were detained after sitting in the street. The sides later brought in a federal mediator. In July, the union requested fact-finding, a process in which a third party reviews both sides’ positions. Under state law, district workers cannot strike until 30 days after the fact-finding report is released.
The union and CPS reached a tentative agreement Oct. 1, and union members ratified it Oct. 11, the district said. Superintendent and CEO Macquiline King thanked employees for their commitment to students and school communities and said she was glad the sides had reached an agreement.