On Tuesday, May 12th, early childhood educators joined Mayor Brandon Johnson, the Worker Center for Racial Justice, the Grassroots Collaborative, Chicago Teacher’s Union, Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, 20th Ward Alderperson Jeanette Taylor, and 39th Ward Alderperson Samantha Nugent at the North Lawndale YMCA to announce exciting news: raises for 3,000 child care workers in Chicago!

This victory didn’t happen overnight. It happened because early childhood educators came together in our union, SEIU HCII and built a movement across Chicago to fight for the wages, benefits, and respect we deserve. Together, we were relentless and it wouldn’t have happened without our efforts. 

For months, we’ve been raising the alarm about the city’s growing child care crisis and the need to invest more in early childhood educators. We organized city-wide, holding our own budget townhalls, packing the Mayor’s budget listening sessions, testifying before the city council and delivering 1,800 signatures on a petition to the Mayor.  

And now our hard work has paid off! This wage increase is an important step forward, but we know the fight isn’t over. We will continue organizing in our union, SEIU HCII, to ensure all child care workers have a strong voice on the job and that every child and family in Chicago has access to the care they need.Do you want to see our vision for a child care system that supports children, parents and teachers become a reality? Join the Child Care For All Campaign today.