DPS must value its low-wage workers

Next week, I will join a coalition of union leaders representing low-wage frontline workers inside Denver Public Schools — including custodians, paraprofessionals, food workers, maintenance and grounds workers, safety and security staffers, facility managers, and office support staff members — as we continue negotiations with Denver Public Schools regarding salary.

In these negotiations, DPS will have the ability to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to living out its stated values of “equity” and “racial justice” as the district negotiates with a group of low-wage workers that are mostly people of color.

Our members work hard to keep our district going, and we are about to work substantially harder while facing a higher level of exposure to COVID-19, to keep schools open in the fall. We are on the front lines and now more than ever the district needs to step up and treat us equitably.

Last year, teachers in the district went on strike and received an 11.7% raise. Our members received 2.95%. This year, teachers secured a 3% increase, which included prenegotiated pay increases and a small cost-of-living adjustment. The district’s latest offer to our members amounts to less than 2%. We believe the teachers deserved these raises, and we think we deserve the same.

We understand that the state is going through a budget shortfall, but we do not believe the DPS board should attempt to balance the budget on our backs. Providing all 3,100 of the workers we represent with a 3% raise would cost the district less than $4 million. DPS’s budget is more than $1 billion, and its reserves are around $90 million; the district has the money to provide an equitable cost-of-living adjustment to support these workers.

In June, almost 250 leaders from Coloradans for the Common Good — a broad-based organization of religious, civic and labor institutions — joined our members in a public meeting with six DPS board directors. At that meeting, the directors repeatedly stated they were putting the needs of frontline workers, including teachers and educational support professionals, first. What happened to those commitments? At a recent board meeting, a board member stated the DPS budget “does no harm” to low-wage workers. Yet the district’s current proposal feels disrespectful and harmful.

I can attest that these negotiations are make-or-break for many of our members. The average full-time office support worker in DPS makes less than $35,000 annually. That number is lower for custodians (less than $30,000 annually) and paraprofessionals (less than $20,000 annually). We are simultaneously the most diverse and the lowest-paid workers in the system. How is that racial justice?

I have lived the impact of low wages in DPS. Many of our members cannot afford health insurance. I have felt the pressure of living paycheck to paycheck because of DPS’s inequitable pay for support staffers. The difference between a 2% and 3% raise may not seem like much to the district’s negotiating team — all of whom make over six figures — but to us it can mean the difference between our children seeing a primary-care doctor or going into massive debt because we cannot afford insurance.

The lack of respect from DPS has me asking: Does the district not value the hard work of our custodians, bus drivers, mechanics, grounds workers, secretaries, security workers, food service workers, paraprofessionals and other support staffers? Does the district not see how this unequal treatment toward its most diverse workforce perpetuates racial injustice? Does DPS care about equity?

The DPS budget is where the district’s values are truly articulated. The DPS Board has stated it values all frontline workers, equity and racial justice. Yet the district’s latest offer makes me feel like we are disposable, especially during this dangerous time.

The district’s commitment to the values of equity and racial justice needs to be more than words; it needs to be reflected in dollars. We are not asking for the world, simply for equitable treatment.

Veronica Martinez is a 25-year veteran of Denver Public Schools and the president of the Denver Association of Educational Office Professionals, the union that represents office support workers inside Denver Public Schools. She is a member of a coalition of unions that are negotiating with the district concerning salaries.