Chicago Public Schools officials have reached a tentative agreement with the union representing lunchroom workers, averting a possible strike after more than a year of bargaining.
The four-year contract would significantly raise the wage floor for the district’s roughly 1,800 lunchroom attendants, cooks and porters, represented by UNITE Here Local 1. The deal was ratified by workers with over 95% support, according to the union, and will go up for vote at Thursday’s school board meeting for final approval.
CPS projects the contract will cost nearly $65 million over four years.
“Our contract brings up their pay considerably, and brings them basically up to the same pay rates as the custodians,” said Patrick Griffin, UNITE Here’s organizing director. “We’re all very happy that they’re going to be compensated in a much more fair way going forward.”
The union’s contract expired last June, and this summer it requested fact-finding—a process in which a neutral third party investigates sticking points in negotiations—signaling workers might escalate with a possible strike. Cafeteria staff are among the district’s lowest-paid employees, and more than 90% are people of color, according to the union.
The new agreement sets a minimum hourly pay of $21. Under the previous contract, a first-year lunchroom attendant would earn about $4 less. than that figure. Assistant lunchroom managers, meanwhile, can now earn up to $27 an hour.
The deal will also create a more consistent wage structure for cooks, CPS said. Previously, cooks’ pay was based on the number of meals served at their schools, resulting in varied wages depending on school enrollment.
Because the contract expired last year, district officials said they’ll make retroactive payments to workers. Lunchroom staff will also get a 4% cost-of-living adjustment next summer, followed by a 2.5% raise in 2028. While they are eligible for benefits, most don’t work year-round, covering four- to eight-hour shifts during the school year, according to the district.
“The workers have really been eager to get back to feeding the students,” Griffin said. “They love what they do, and this campaign has been about what it is going to take to make sure they have the tools they need to do that.”
The district’s beleaguered finances added pressure to the negotiations. This summer, CPS officials closed a $732 million deficit through department cuts and hundreds of teacher layoffs—some of which were reversed with a budget amendment that included unconfirmed state funding. If that money doesn’t materialize, it could lead to cuts later in the school year.
A Tribune analysis of the 2026-27 budget shows a 3.5% cut in lunchroom funds.
“CPS recognizes and values the dedication and hard work of nutrition service employees, and is committed to collaborating closely with these essential team members who ensure that all CPS students have access to free and nutritious meals each day,” a district spokesperson said in a statement.