Chicago Public Schools has formally challenged the Service Employees International Union’s petition to represent 1,600 miscellaneous workers — stalling the union’s push to increase membership across the district.
SEIU Local 73 filed the representation petition with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on Nov. 10. The workers cover a wide range of support roles, including tutors and recess monitors, in Chicago’s public schools. The union argues they are sometimes misclassified, filling roles that unionized support staff also perform, but for less pay and no benefits.
An “overwhelming majority” of those workers want to join SEIU, according to the union.
But in objections filed Christmas Eve, CPS said the union petition should be tossed out, arguing the workers are “short-term” employees not entitled to union representation under state law.
Miscellaneous workers don’t have a “reasonable expectation that he or she will remain in that position at any given time,” the district argued. “By definition, these positions are filled on a ‘temporary,’ ‘hourly,’ and ‘part-time’ basis.”
Local 73 argues that many of the miscellaneous workers have worked in the district for years despite being classified as “temporary” and said it’s confident it will prevail before the state educational labor board.
“These workers are some of the lowest-paid, part-time workers in CPS, typically performing lunch and recess duties,” Local 73 President Dian Palmer said in a statement last week, calling the school board “Grinch of the year” because of the timing of its objection.
The district also argued that the miscellaneous workers lack a “community of interest” with other Local 73 members in CPS, in part because they perform such a wide range of roles and lack predictable schedules and hours.
CPS also pointed to the miscellaneous workers’ lack of benefits when arguing that they should not be allowed to join the union.
“Miscellaneous employees are not eligible for participation in the District’s various employee benefit plans, including its health care, vision, dental insurance plans, and life insurance benefits. Unlike other SEIU bargaining unit members, they do not accrue vacation days or personal days,” the district argued.
“The drastic difference in working conditions between miscellaneous employees and those of the current bargaining unit weigh against a common community of interest,” the objection reads.
A spokesperson for CPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The petition also hit an earlier hurdle: After SEIU initially filed to represent the miscellaneous workers, the Chicago Teachers Union contended that some were rightfully theirs. CTU filed grievances against CPS in 2018 and 2022, seeking to formally represent the job title.
It was the latest development in a feud between the two politically-powerful labor unions, which stems from an earlier dispute over other jobs within the district.
In a blog post this month, CTU blamed district leadership for leaving miscellaneous workers “unaddressed,” accusing officials of “attempting to create conflict.” The teachers union said that the workers fill a variety of roles — some that may fall under CTU or SEIU, and some that may not be legally eligible for representation.
“We will continue our grievance process to ensure the right to organize, that workers are properly classified and that those performing CTU bargaining unit work are represented by our union,” the post said.
Local 73 represents about 13,000 support staff in the district, such as security officers and bus aides. CTU, meanwhile, represents about 30,000 workers, the bulk of whom are teachers.
Once allies that worked together to help elect Mayor Brandon Johnson, the two progressive unions have feuded bitterly after SEIU last year accused the teachers union of trying to pass a contract proposal it said would effectively take special education jobs from SEIU and give them to CTU.
At a Dec. 8 news conference, SEIU gathered dozens of district employees at the union’s Near West Side offices. Shah Dhanji, a seven-year CPS veteran, said he often covers 12-hour shifts. He spends most of his time monitoring students during recess, bouncing between an elementary school, preschool and afterschool program.
Dhanji said that he loves his job, but his family goes without health insurance. “Being a miscellaneous worker means going without basic benefits needed. … We show up every day for our students and we deserve a system that shows up for us too,” he said.
Board member Yesenia Lopez, District 7B, told attendees that she comes from a union household and that it’s “only fair” that miscellaneous workers have the right to organize.
“They just want a fair share, and I’m here to support them,” Lopez said. “They’re there every day, fighting for our students and helping our teachers, our principals and every other staff (member).”