These Philly school workers say they make ‘welfare wages.’ They were told their raise request was too much.

Kiara Coleman is a single parent — her girls are 12, 9 and 1 — and a food service worker at Overbrook Educational Center, a Philadelphia public school.

Her job pays $15.50 an hour; her union asked the Philadelphia School District for a $1.50-an-hour wage increase for its 1,900 members, which are cafeteria and climate staff. School system officials told them their requests were “not feasible.”

“It felt disrespectful, disheartening, disappointing,” said Coleman, who’s worked for the district since 2015. “The kitchens are already short-staffed. It’s a lot on the workers.”

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Unite Here Local 634′s contract expires Sept. 30. Nicole Hunt, the local’s president, said negotiations were proceeding in a “slow and frustrating” way, and that 634 representatives walked out of talks early last week because the district was not taking them seriously.

The 634 workers are among the district’s lowest paid, and perform vital jobs — the cafeteria workers cooking and distributing food to students who rely on free school lunches, and the climate staff keeping order in hallways and on playgrounds.

The workers are overwhelmingly female, Black and brown, city residents — many work in the neighborhoods where they live. But they make “welfare wages,” Hunt said. Often, they’re asked to work split shifts, or three-hour shifts, and have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. About 225 are not given enough hours to qualify for medical benefits, and live paycheck to paycheck.

“If you work three hours a day, your paycheck might be $500; after taxes, that’s a welfare check,” said Hunt.

The district often struggles to fill its climate and cafeteria jobs, too. Staff shortages meant hundreds of students went hungry at one school two years ago.

School system officials first offered a 1% raise, union officials said, but also asked for increased healthcare contributions. The most recent offer was a 2.5% increase.

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Local 634 asked for an increase of $1.50 an hour in the first year, $1.45 in the second year, and $1.40 in the third year, Hunt said.

Unlike workers in other district unions, Local 634′s members have no “steps,” or extra pay for years of experience; a veteran climate staffer is paid the same as a new one.

Hunt said 634 is asking not just for increased wages, but also for equipment to perform their jobs safely. Climate staff currently are not given walkie-talkies, but expected to use their own personal cell phones to call for assistance or communicate with other school employees.

But some “can’t afford to keep their cell phones on,” Hunt said.

The union also wants de-escalation training for climate staff, who are often the first line of defense when a student is agitated, a fight breaks out, or other issues occur.

In the 24 days until her contract expires, Hunt said she and other officials will be “considering options.”

Monique Braxton, district spokesperson, said the district considers 634 workers “dedicated team members” and that it has been engaged in negotiations with the union for several months.

“We continue to work diligently to reach an agreement on a successor collective bargaining agreement and we are optimistic that we will do so with our union partners before the current agreement expires on September 30,” Braxton said in a statement.

Elected officials joined Hunt Wednesday at a Center City news conference to demand better for the union’s members.

State Rep. Joe Hohenstein said it was incumbent on the district to find a way to pay 634 workers fairly and give them the supplies they need.

“They make our kids safe,” Hohenstein said. “They feed our kids, and that’s what we have to do for them — give them the tools to make sure they can keep their kids safe and feed their families.”

State Sen. Vincent Hughes urged the district to “make this right within 24 days. Our babies are worth a lot more than being paid $15 an hour.”

Hughes said elected officials were currently taking a “politely urging” tone with the district, but would change their tone if the district doesn’t budge.

“One job should be enough,” Hughes said.

City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas agreed. Thomas, a Frankford High graduate and the basketball coach at Sankofa Freedom Academy, was given his first coaching opportunity by Mr. Keith, a Frankford climate staffer.

“You never know when a child is going to find a mentor, a hug, stability in an unstable community,” Thomas said.