Jenna Karlin – RI Future

The Pawtucket school lunch workers will hold a one day strike on Friday September 23 to highlight the importance equal pay for women if no Agreement is reached. In an effort to avoid the strike, the Pawtucket school lunch workers will be negotiating with their employer, Aramark Educational Services, LLC after school on Thursday, September 22.

The 81 school lunch employees earn only $0.76 for every $1.00 earned by a male doing comparable work. Ethan Shorey wrote in The Valley Breeze that Jenna Karlin, of the Local 26 that Unite Here! “prepared the comparison of 76 cents for women to $1 for men by using publicly available data of the Pawtucket school support staff positions that are primarily filled by men (custodians) and the pay rate data members have for local school lunch members… The figures compare the hourly pay rates.”

On September 8 employees of Aramark voted 100 percent to strike. The workers have also unveiled a mural showing photos of 73 school lunch workers who are ready to strike.

The call for equal pay comes weeks after Massachusetts’s Governor Charlie Baker signed a pay equity bill into law making the circumstances occurring in Pawtucket illegal in Massachusetts. The School Lunch employees in Everett, Massachusetts inspired this new law as part of their fight for equal pay.

The Pawtucket School Lunch workers demand for equal pay comes at a healthy time for the School Lunch Program. The Program’s revenues, in addition to funding all Program expenses, allows Aramark to take over $250,000 back to its out-of-state headquarters every year.

In addition, Aramark has also asserted the right to make changes in work conditions, including changing employee hours, unilaterally, without a contract. This action is currently under legal challenge.

Jayne Rainville, Lead Cook at Jenks Junior High, stated: “I can’t believe that Aramark is treating us this way. Enough is enough. We deserve to be treated fairly.”

Carolyn DeOliveira, Lead Cook at Nathaniel Greene Elementary School, said, “I pour my heart and soul into my job because I care about the kids. Aramark is trying to take advantage of our passion. Like I taught my kids and my grandkids, there comes a time when you have to put your foot down and stand up.”

Kate Massey, at Shea High School, said, “I do this work for the kids. For too many, we serve the only meal(s) they will eat all day. The way Aramark is treating us, makes it harder for us to take care of the kids.”

A petition signed by nearly 400 Providence residents was delivered to City Hall Thursday night by STEP (Stop Tax Evasion in Providence) calling on Mayor Jorge Elorza and the City Council to reject four ordinances that would authorize $3 million in tax breaks to connected developers.

Details on Elorza’s tax breaks for existing properties

Mayor Elorza offering tax breaks Candidate Elorza opposed

The Extraordinary Rendition Band played outside City Hall in support of the protest and then lead a march inside, up the stairs and eventually into the City Council chambers. Seven police officers were on the scene.

At the same time the protesters arrived, people were arriving for the Bike the Night with Mayor Elorza event. The STEP protesters were eager to engage with the Mayor about the proposed tax breaks, but Mayor Elorza did not make it to the bike event that bore his name, citing a conflict.

City Council President Luis Aponte told me that the Council is “taking a real hard look” at the proposed tax breaks, noting that there is some affordable housing in the mix of properties under discussion, and these may need to be subsidized. Aponte also said that he’s “not sure” if the tax breaks amount to $3 million, assuring me that the actual number will come out as the City Council examines the proposals.

Sam Bell, executive director of the RI Progressive Democrats of America and STEP member called the proposed tax breaks “corporate welfare.” The tax breaks are to be awarded to a bunch of very well-off people who don’t want to pay their fair share in taxes, says Bell. These properties have already had over a decade of tax breaks, he said, and if they can’t get the numbers to work, they need to go to the banks and refinance. Otherwise, these tax breaks amount to a “bank bailout.”

John Jacobson, who organized the petition delivery, arrived in a Santa suit and called the proposed deal corporate welfare and “crony capitalism.”

“We shouldn’t live in a city where if you have the right last name or are connected you don’t have to pay taxes,” said Jacobson. He spoke to the crowd gathered outside the Counicl chambers for some time, explaining the background of the tax breaks connected developers have come to expect in the city.

The STEP coalition also includes Unite Here Local 217 and organizers Jenna Karlin and Heather Nichols-Haining attended the protest.

Candidate Elorza told the RIPDA that he was opposed to granting tax breaks to developers that didn’t generate positive revenue for the city. Mayor Elorza has yet to explain why he changed his mind on this issue.

Tag: Jenna Karlin

Pawtucket school lunch workers call one day strike for Friday

STEP fights corporate welfare at City Hall with a carnival atmosphere