LUNCH LADIES AND LUNCHROOM WORKERS UNVEIL PLEDGE FOR SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES AHEAD OF NOVEMBER ELECTION

Lunchroom workers plan to talk to thousands of voters across the city about which candidates have signed ahead of November’s first fully elected school board elections.

LUNCH LADIES AND LUNCHROOM WORKERS UNVEIL PLEDGE FOR SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES AHEAD OF NOVEMBER ELECTION

Lunchroom workers plan to talk to thousands of voters across the city about which candidates have signed ahead of November’s first fully elected school board elections.


Lunch ladies and lunchroom workers who work for Chicago Public Schools met outside of the Chicago Board of Education today to announce their Lunchroom Pledge that they will ask candidates to sign. The pledge asks candidates to commit to fighting for minimum hourly pay that is equal to CPS custodians and an end to the elimination of lunch lady jobs.

“Feeding Chicago’s children is what we do. And in the election for Chicago’s first fully-elected school board, our number one priority is to make sure we can feed Chicago’s children the good, healthy and fresh food that they need to be successful students,” said Letia Downing-Lowe a lunch lady at Eli Whitney Elementary school.

Lunch room workers serve more than 274,000 meals everyday and prepare more than 75 million meals for CPS students every year. In spite of the overwhelming amount of work that the lunchroom workers do, they say that the school board does not prioritize fresh cooked meals, their kitchens are woefully understaffed, and many of their coworkers cannot afford to stay working in the lunchrooms because they are paid so little.

The lunchroom workers, who are members of Unite Here Local 1, outlined their Lunchroom Pledge and that they intend to support only the candidates willing to sign leading up to the November election.

“At the end of the day, it is the students that pay the price when the school board fails to invest in the lunchrooms. We want to serve food that makes kids happy. We want to serve food that makes them want to come back to school everyday,” said Jesse Hernandez a cook at Colombia Explorers Academy.

”We are going to be paying very close attention to all of the candidates and to whether they sign on to the Lunchroom Pledge or whether they do not sign. We are talking to our coworkers and to the other members of our Union, and we are going to make sure that everyone knows who is standing up for the kids and the people who cook their meals, and we are mobilizing our members to vote for the candidates who stand with the kids.” Said Roushanda Williams Executive Board member of Unite Here Local 1.

In September 2025, lunchroom workers released a report about their working conditions and delivered it to the Board of Education. The report showed that 49% of surveyed lunchroom workers struggle to afford necessities, 55% have difficulty paying utility bills, 51% have considered leaving Chicago because of the rising cost of living, and 22% have relied on food pantries.

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