Child care workers organizing with SEIU Healthcare Illinois joined Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Illinois Child Care for All Coalition as he announced wage increases for Chicago child care workers – a critical new measure to address the ongoing crisis facing child care providers and families alike. Surrounded by union child care workers who have organized, rallied and demanded new investment in child care for years in partnership with advocates and parents across Illinois, Mayor Johnson announced a $7 million investment into child care workforce compensation. The new investment will result in significant raises as high as 13 percent for Chicago child care workers – stabilizing the child care industry and increasing access to care for families. The announcement comes after years of child care worker advocacy. In January, child care workers held a press conference at City Hall and delivered a petition with over 1,800 signatures to the Mayor’s Office, calling on Mayor Brandon Johnson to make child care jobs good jobs by leveraging the City of Chicago’s contracts with child care centers to ensure workers have a voice on the job, benefits and livable wages.

Photo Credit: SEIU Healthcare Illinois