Veronica Ramos likes her job as a cook at Hastings Middle School. She enjoys preparing food. Her work schedule allows her to be home when her kids return from school. And working in school kitchens is a family tradition.
“My grandma used to be a lunch lady, and I’m the second generation of being a lunch lady,” she said. “I like to prepare meals. But the amount of money they offer to us is a joke.”
Ramos and other food service workers in Hastings Public Schools have been on strike since February 7, hoping for a pay raise and paid e-learning days. Ramos earns $16.03 an hour and works about six hours a day during the school year. That comes out to earning about $16,000 annually to support herself and three sons. Her 18-year-old son works at an Aldi grocery store, where he earns a higher hourly wage at $16.50.
“It’s frustrating because I’m the mom,” Ramos said. “I’m the one who’s supposed to make more and give them a better life.”
In a press statement, Hastings Public Schools said it stood by what it called its “last, best, and final offer” from early February. That offer would raise Ramos’ wage to $16.67 this year and $17.34 next year—overall, an 8 percent raise—as well as a $600 retention bonus each year. According to a salary comparison analysis by Hastings Public Schools, the average starting wage for cooks in similar school districts is $18.68.
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