CPS Support Staff Rally and Demand No Layoffs

CPS Support Staff, including Special Education Classroom Assistants, Custodians, Crossing Guards, Bus Aides, Security Officers, and Parent Workers, represented by SEIU Local 73, rallied outside the Chicago Board of Education today demanding no layoffs.

Every day, more than 11,000 CPS support staff, represented by SEIU Local 73, work tirelessly to ensure that students have clean, safe, and supported schools. From the Bus Aides and Crossing Guards who get students to and from school safely to the Custodians who keep the schools clean to the Special Education Classroom Assistants who serve more than 60,000 special needs students, our members are there working to promote a quality education for the children of Chicago. Their potential loss would be a significant blow to the education system.

“CPS children cannot afford to lose the care and resources union members have fought so hard to obtain since the pandemic. It’s time the Chicago Board of Education stopped repeating the same mistake with these mass layoffs and now fights to protect the well-being of all children at CPS,” said Dian Palmer, President of SEIU Local 73. “Ten years ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel laid off 1,400 CPS staff disproportionately affecting underserved communities on Chicago’s South and West sides and added to the financial burden of the district’s pension fund. CPS is looking to repeat that mistake and, once again, Chicago’s children will suffer the consequences.”

“At Henderson Elementary we are already down to two SECAs per 13 students which is already too low,” said Jeannine Carrasquillo, Special Education Classroom Assistant at Henderson Elementary School. “We can’t afford to go any lower without putting the safety of our students at risk.”

“If it weren’t for us workers, CPS wouldn’t be able to take care of these kids,” said Doris Alexander, Crossing Guard. “CPS owes us and the parents more than one week’s notice before school restarts to tell us if we are laid off.”

We call on the City of Chicago and the Board of Education to urgently explore other alternatives that will not directly harm these students’ education. Combining additional state funding and using Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds from Chicago could easily bridge this gap. Mayor Brandon Johnson has the power to declare a surplus of those funds, which would go a long way towards honoring his promise to equitably fund and staff our schools.

We are looking for solutions, leadership, and a plan to prevent the loss of critical support staff and resources desperately needed in our schools for our most vulnerable children and communities. The children of Chicago cannot afford more layoffs. It is time for Mayor Johnson, the City Council, and the CPS Board of Education to put the students first.

“These people are the frontline for our children and our communities,” said State Sen. Willie Preston (D-16).

“Support staff are the backbones of our schools,” said State Rep. Michael Crawford (D-31). “You are the ones that make the students feel safe, supported, and seen, especially students with disabilities who rely on your care and consistency every single day.”