Chicago Public School Custodians Speak Out Against Former CPS CEO and Mayoral Candidate Paul Vallas

Custodians who worked at Chicago Public Schools during Paul Vallas reign as CEO speak out against his failed leadership

CHICAGO - Ahead of the 2023 Mayoral Runoff Election, Chicago Public School (CPS) custodians are sharing their experience with Mayoral Candidate and former CPS CEO Paul Vallas and the harmful impact it had on them and their families. When Paul Vallas was CEO of CPS from 1995 to 2001, he failed Chicago’s working parents and children. He took thousands of public custodial jobs and privatized them in order to balance the CPS budget on the backs of the very people who are supposed to keep our kids schools clean and safe– in doing so, essential workers had their wages slashed by $3-$5, lost their healthcare and their pensions leaving families with almost no safety net. 

“When I began as a custodian at Morgan Park High School -- a Chicago Public School -- in 1999, Paul Vallas kept us at $7.25 an hour. It took a long time for us workers to get any type of raise or anything. He degraded us and it was hard on us and our families. It was difficult to pay the bills,” said retired CPS custodian Tony Logan. “Frankly, he had no business being there and if he wasn't CEO at that time, us custodians could’ve had better benefits and pay that actually allowed us to provide for our families. If he becomes Mayor of Chicago, history will repeat itself and working families will suffer.”

“Paul Vallas privatized janitorial jobs shortly before I began working as a Chicago Public School custodian in July of 1998 at Bouchet Elementary. I saw firsthand the hardships Paul Vallas's decisions had on me, my coworkers, and our families,” said CPS custodian Lamont Christmas. “Now, nearly 25 years later - I still work in Chicago Public Schools. It has taken us over two decades to overcome the harmful impact Paul Vallas had on us. We have raised the labor standard, won higher wages, and won stronger benefits through our Union, SEIU Local 1. We cannot go back - we need a Mayor who will keep pushing working families forward. Paul Vallas will work against us, not with us.”

Paul Vallas’s irresponsible decisions had harmful effects on thousands of working families for decades. If elected Mayor of Chicago, the strong labor standard that working people have fought long and hard for will be at risk. SEIU Local 1 supports labor champion Brandon Johnson for Mayor of Chicago.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/Esp5C1aFlwU

For Additional Context Watch the Extended Version: https://youtu.be/fKYrMNbz1_Q

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Service Employees International Union Local 1 unites 50,000 workers throughout the Midwest, including janitors, security officers, airport workers, higher education faculty, food service workers, and others. Local 1 is committed to improving the lives of its members and all working people by winning real economic justice and standing at the forefront of the fight for immigrant, racial and environmental justice.