In Florida, Duval County food service workers speak up for fair wages -- and win

Photo: AFSCME Local 2941.

https://www.afscme.org/blog/in-florida-duval-county-food-service-workers-speak-up-for-fair-wages-and-win

By Mark McCullough · Thursday, November 21, 2024

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – AFSCME members in north Florida who feed school children had to fight hard for the modest raises they’re getting as part of their new contract.

Last month, food service workers for Duval County Public Schools faced a tough choice — continue to accept poverty wages or go on strike.

The workers, employed by private contractor Chartwells K12, were simply asking that starting pay move to $14/hour, $1 above the state’s minimum wage and still less than the $15 an hour level mandated in a 2022 law that applies to public employees in school districts across the state.

“This was about respect, plain and simple. What they are doing is teaching the students we serve every day a valuable lesson — a dime’s worth of profit matters more than the dignity of a fellow human being,” said Annette Taylor, a food unit lead and vice president of Local 2941 (AFSCME Florida), the union representing the Chartwells employees.

FULL story at link above.