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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Glenys Rivera, Second Vice President of Local 372, on School Lunch Workers and Kitchen Conditions
4:47:37
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131 sec
Glenys Rivera, representing Local 372, addresses critical staffing and infrastructure concerns in the mayor's proposed education budget, focusing on school lunch workers and kitchen conditions. She requests $10 million for hiring additional school lunch workers and urges improvements in kitchen ventilation and air conditioning.
- Highlights the importance of school lunch workers in serving meals to over 900,000 children
- Requests $10 million to address staffing shortages and ensure compliance with dietary protocols
- Calls for a comprehensive evaluation of ventilation needs in public school kitchens and funding for remediation
Glenys Rivera
4:47:37
Good afternoon, chair Joseph and honorable members of the committee.
4:47:41
My name is Glenys Rivera, second vice president of local three seventy two, representing over 24,000 New York City of education employees, including 8,000 school lunch workers.
4:47:52
I appear before you today to address the critical staffing and infrastructure concerns tied to the mayor's proposal educational budget.
4:48:01
School lunch workers play a foundational role in student readiness by preparing and serving meals for over 900,000 children across the five boroughs.
4:48:12
Last year's $25,000,000 restoration to school foods programs was an important step.
4:48:18
However, without sufficient staffing, it is not sustainable.
4:48:22
We respectfully request an allocation of $10,000,000 to hire additional school lunch workers.
4:48:28
This investment will address current staffing shortages, reduce the burden of on existing personnel, and ensure compliance with medical, religious, and dietary protocols.
4:48:40
Our members routinely arrive early and stay late without additional compensation just to meet the basic requirements of the breakfast and lunch service.
4:48:50
In addition, we urge the council to prioritize ventilation and air conditioning improvements in school kitchens.
4:48:58
Many facilities, particularly those built in nineteen nineties, lack proper ventilation leading to dangerous kitchen conditions that often exceed a 30 degrees.
4:49:10
These conditions compromise sanitation, safety, and workers' health.
4:49:16
We request that the Department of Education and School Construction Authority conduct a comprehensive evaluation of ventilation needs across the public school kitchens and the funding be designated for remediation.
4:49:31
On behalf of president Sean d Francois the first and the members of local three seventy two, I thank the council for its ongoing support and respectfully urge favorable consideration of this request to strengthen school food services and working conditions across the city.
4:49:48
Thank you.