GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — Guilford County Schools nutrition workers returned to work Wednesday, following a two-day walkout where they demanded better communication and better pay.
Lisa Loftis, a nutrition assistant at Northeast Guilford Middle School, spent the last two days outside, standing in solidarity with other nutrition workers who felt they deserve more from the school district.
“All of us, we love our positions,” Loftis said. “But we just felt that we needed a little bit more pay for what we do on a daily basis.”
On Wednesday, she – along with other protesters – returned to their schools, where she said they were met with praise and appreciation.
“They welcomed us back with open arms, even the staff. The staff said that we honor what you do every day because we didn’t realize how hard it was,” Loftis said.
After discussions on both Monday and Tuesday, GCS leaders announced an end to the strike, saying they plan a 4 percent pay increase for school nutrition assistants and a 7 percent increase for nutrition managers.
“We’re just asking for a little bit more,” Loftis said. “And we appreciate what we did get – it’s a steppingstone – but we still need to work to get that progress to get a little bit more.”
Superintendent of Guilford County Schools Dr. Whitney Oakley knows some workers aren’t pleased with the agreed-upon plan but said she hopes it moves conversations forward in the future.
“They’re still frustrated as lots of different types of workers are, and so I think the communication, the advocacy has to be the path forward,” Oakley said. “I do feel like they feel it’s a new starting point and that they’ve been heard, and they were appreciative of that.”
Loftis said the walkout represents something much bigger than just pay for cafeteria workers.
“We have something in place and I’m glad that we went out there so we can support all the schools, not just in Guilford County but everywhere, to show your worth. And we are worthy of the pay that we need to get,” she said.
Along with the increase, Oakley said the district is working to launch an advisory council for school nutrition employees to give them a space for ongoing conversations and feedback.
“It’s just a good way to have voices at the table,” Oakley said. “People in different levels of school, different sizes of school face different circumstances, and I think what we learned is we need to make sure we have their voices at the table in an ongoing way, so this is an effort in that direction.”
For many workers, including Loftis, this feels like a much-needed addition and is something they believe will help show their value.
“I hope that it doesn’t have to come to another protest. I hope they see our worth and see the effort we put in these two days that we did do a protest,” Loftis said. “The children – we want them to see us as a team, but we also want to be there for them.”