12 Schools closed as staff call out “sick” to protest district pay issues.
At 2pm on Wednesday January 31, the lawn outside of DPS’s central office building was packed.
Teachers, students, classified staff, parents, and union workers completely filled the sidewalks chanting “We work, we sweat, put respect on my check,” as they circled the building in windy, 40 degree weather, for hours.
This protest, along with the one last Thursday at the school board meeting, have been organized by the Durham Association of Educators (DAE) because of the recent issues regarding classified worker pay.
“[We’re here] because there were 1,300 classified staff workers who were told they were being overpaid,” said DAE president Symone Kiddo.
DPS recently hired a consulting firm to study employee compensation. The district used that information to adjust classified pay rates for the 2023-24 school year. The new plan included significant pay raises, but many classified staff workers learned on Jan. 12 that they would earn less in their future paychecks because the district would no longer recognize private or out of state experience.
This change dramatically decreases the pay of many staff members by taking away steps from staff’s pay plan. Staff receive steps for the amount of experience they have, and with each step comes more money.
“What the district tried to do was work that study and adjust pay steps at the same time, and what that resulted in was people having their years of experience erased and a looming pay cut,” said Kiddo. “There is a decision around pay and around steps to be made but there is also a decision around worker voice.”
School board officials are not obligated to listen to staff workers or consider their views when making decisions, meaning there is no guarantee workers’ voices are really heard.
“Until something is done people will still be really frustrated and angry,” said Kiddo.
Emotions were running high, and everyone at the protest had something to say.
Walking along the side of the building on West Mangum, carrying a sign saying SICK of DPS and chanting “this is SICK,” was Maria Rodriguez, a classified staff member who was heavily affected by the district’s decisions.
“They have taken 19 years of my work experience because I came from out of state, with my work experience, and was left with the 11 years I have been here at Durham Public Schools,” she said.
“How do you reflect on the income of more than half gone for over 1,300 employees,” she asks. “Where is the money that we need to get in our checks?”
In the front of the building there was a megaphone, free for people to use to share their stories and opinions.
A classified staff member currently working for the Hub Farm took this opportunity to tell his story.
“I’ve worked with cafeteria workers who fed my students and I’ve worked with custodial staff who made sure the mess my students and colleagues made was cleaned up every night, and I’m furious,” he said. “It’s unacceptable that people all over the pay scale have had their lives upended without their consent in the middle of the night.”
This sparked an uproar from the crowd.
A teacher from CC Spaulding spoke next, echoing his sentiment that this is unacceptable.
“We’re working every day all day. I’m out here and I’ve had deaths in the family but nothing stops because of those things,” she said. “When the tough times get going we are still out here working. Let’s get what we deserve.”
Staff members under DPS are obligated to show up to work every day, she said, despite the hardships going on in their life, and are now not even receiving a livable wage from doing so.
Sheena Jones showed up to the protest to advocate for her department, student nutrition services, in which salary has always been an issue for the staff to the point where 90% of the staff had a second job even before these pay cuts.
“The majority of our staff are 6 steps, so they are making like $2,200 dollars a month and then they take a step from them,” she said. “So after tax they are bringing home $1600 a month. That is not a living wage.”
The staff in Jones’ department are now angrier than they have ever been.
“How can you take from the smaller group, people that are already working two jobs to make ends meet. It’s really upsetting,” she said.
Doris Dickerson and Kokeya Evans were also heavily affected by DPS’s new policy, causing them to dedicate hours of their day to standing in the cold holding up signs and singing anything from “We got the power they can’t stand it, educators run this planet,” to chanting “I’ve been robbed without a gun.”
“We have bills to pay,” said Evans, “We can’t function.”
Dickerson agreed.
“They basically handicapped us,” she said. “We finally got the thing we were waiting on for years and then they want to take it away. This is senseless. They took 12 years from me, out of nowhere.”
People directly affected by the issue were not the only ones there though. Solidarity and support were two big themes throughout the protest.
Jordan High School senior Avery Clark was affected secondhand by this issue through bus shortages, and staff absences, along with many other high school students. But she didn’t attend the protest to complain about the absence of cafeteria staff.
“The classified workers are not getting the respect they deserve,” said Clark. “There is more work that needs to be done so we are here in solidarity for them.”
In addition to students, unaffected community members protested in solidarity holding signs saying anything from “If you say it, pay it,” to “WTF – Where’s the funds?”
There were parents walking down the street pushing kids in strollers, and people passing out hand warmers as well as snacks that were donated by 9th Street Bakery.
Reporters from the News and Observer came and there were people streaming the protest on instagram live.
Every car that drove by honked and rolled down their window to cheer for the hundreds of people fighting for the rights of DPS employees.
The consensus was clear: classified staff deserve better.
“We have no more choice in DPS,” said Evans, “At this point a lot of people have made up their mind, especially myself, like I have been at DPS 21 years now and I’m at the point where I’m getting ready to start applying to other state jobs.”
Photos by Piper Winton
