Durham City and Schools Workers Push for Higher Pay

It’s Tuesday, March 26.

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Good morning, readers. 

Since last fall, we’ve been tracking two major stories of workers and wages in the Bull City. Today, we have updates on both.

1. In September, Durham city waste workers walked off the job in protest of low wages. And while their efforts were rewarded with one-time bonuses in October, that didn’t address their biggest demand—higher wages. The workers were back at last week’s city council budget hearing to ask for a fair wage.

“How can our job be so important but we get paid so little?” George Bacote, a solid waste employee, asked the city council. Other city workers and residents spoke to the rising costs of living in Durham and to how many city employees feel as though they can’t afford to live in the city in which they work and serve.

2. In January, Durham Public Schools was brought to its knees by a payroll screwup so big that the superintendent and chief financial officer both stepped down. Last week, an outside consultant suggested abandoning DPS’s current “steps” pay system, which calculates workers’ pay based on years of relevant experience. He suggested DPS pay workers within the state’s minimum and maximum recommendations instead. Classified staff, whose pay would be impacted, were not happy. 

“At this point, I just want to throw in the towel,” said Barbara Tapper, a DPS physical therapist at that board meeting. And other workers reminded the board that parents and employees have other options if Durham doesn’t get its act together. 

“We are Wake curious, we are Orange curious, we are Guilford curious,” said Lauren Sartain, a DPS parent and PTA president. 

 Have a great Tuesday. 

—Chase

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