Most San Francisco public school food service employees, custodians and secretaries support going on strike if negotiations with the school district continue to stall.
Nearly all of SIEU 1021’s members voted Tuesday to strike if their demands for higher pay and administrative support are unmet. The union, representing some 900 SFUSD employees, alleges that the district is violating labor laws and has failed to meet their basic demands despite a ‘frustrating year of negotiations.’
“I work in the school district as a custodian. I take care of the kids. Every day in my mind, I always remind myself that I must keep the school environment safe and clean for the kids,” SEIU member Helen Huang told the district’s negotiations team during the Sept. 20 bargaining session.
Huang and other union members are asking for a base pay on par with peer districts in the Bay Area, such as San Jose or Berkeley — and according to union officials, employees make 16% to 25% less than their SEIU counterparts employed by The City.
SIEU employees’ contracts expired in 2020. SEIU and the teachers’ union are unified in bargaining sessions with that district that have dragged on for over a year.
Last week, the school district offered a $10,000 raise, or 15% to the lowest-paid teachers in the district, an act of good faith district officials hoped would quell teachers’ motivation to strike this fall.
The raises did not apply to school support staff, who have gone four years without a raise, according to union officials, adding to mounting frustration, burnout and resignations.
Full-time salaries for SFUSD custodians are roughly $60,000 a year, full-time secretaries make about $65,000 and meal prep workers make about $56,000 yearly. These salaries make SIEU members the lowest-paid employees in the district.
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Union President Rafael Picazo, who has worked for the district for 40 years, said pay hasn’t kept pace with the rising cost of living in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
“The cost of living in San Francisco is so high, it has displaced our members, many of whom are also SFUSD parents, out of the city. Most of our members come from Black, brown, and Asian communities, and we all stand in solidarity in our fight for a fair contract and a living wage,” Picazo said.
Custodians, food service workers and secretaries have also been affected by SFUSD’s notorious and faulty payroll system, which has docked their pay and mangled their health benefits.
“We don't want to go on strike. But the district is forcing us to fight for our members, families, and ultimately our students,” Picazo said.
Now that most voting members say “yes” to authorize a strike, the SEIU 1021 bargaining team will move forward to determine when and if the conditions are right to strike.
That pivotal decision will likely come on Oct. 11, when service workers and teachers will vote to authorize a strike, potentially shuttering San Francisco public schools this fall.
The City will begin investigating SFUSD’s spending practices this fall as well.
