PICTURED: Wendy Varre and her 9-year-old, Kayla, seated at the kitchen table. In the background, 20-year-old Joe holds 20-month-old Lela. ABC Photography.

For the past two years, Wendy Varre dreaded the holidays because it meant seven days without pay.

When the food service helper in the Syracuse city schools counts her blessings this holiday season, her union comes right after her three kids. This fall, the Syracuse Teachers Association negotiated a contract that provides an additional seven paid holidays for all food-service employees and lunch aides who have completed one year of service this year, and seven more next year. When fully implemented, cafeteria workers will receive pay during all school breaks. The contract also provides 3.5 percent retroactive pay back to July 1, 2000, a 3.5 percent increase dating to July 1, 2001, and a 5 percent increase next year.

Juggling bills

"This means so much for my family," said Varre, who now will make $66 a day - before taxes. "This isn't about buying more toys for the kids. This means I won't have to let a bill go during Christmas and New Year's Eve and worry how I'm going to make up for it later."

The gains for the 250 food-service employees in Syracuse came after a hard year of bargaining.

"I've worked 29 years and never thought we'd get" holiday pay, said Mary Ann Mafrici. "I'm so proud we finally did it."

Unit President Lou Ann Coleman insisted that food-service workers be treated like the rest of the union and get paid for school breaks.

"I've got a lot of single dads and single moms like Wendy who have families to feed during those weeks, but can't get a job for such short times," Coleman said. "I wasn't backing down."

Kate McKenna, Syracuse TA president, praised the food-service negotiating team for the contract, which also achieved: an increase of the uniform stipend to $200; an increase of cooks' hours to 7.5 hours; an allowance for unused sick days to carry over to the next year; a start of sick leave after the first month of service for new employees; and an allowance for personal leave if a member suffers the loss of more than one family member in a year.

McKenna noted that many food-service workers, as well as teaching assistants in the Syracuse TA, work part time in addition to their full-time school jobs to make ends meet.

"It's a shame that public employees, who care, feed and educate other people's children, often cannot afford the care they need for their own children," McKenna said. "This contract is a big step in improving that situation."

Varre went back to work after her husband died, choosing food service to have the same schedule as her children so she wouldn't have to pay for day care.

Before having her third child, Varre had a part-time job five nights a week where she increased her hours during school break weeks. But having a baby meant having child care.

"When I couldn't afford the day care, I gave up the part-time job," said Varre, who then made $59.85 a day - before taxes.

She and her three kids are in the ranks of the working poor.

"It's a struggle," Varre said. "I'm lucky if I bring home $400 every two weeks, after all the deductions for health insurance."

Once she pays her $550 monthly rent for an upstairs flat in a working-class neighborhood on Syracuse's north side, the rest goes toward car and renter's insurance, utilities and food. She pays the bills with help from aid programs such as Home Energy Assistance Program and Section 8 housing - everything except food stamps, she notes.

Besides the holiday pay provision, Varre is thankful that this contract provides another family sick day. Previously the contract allowed only four family sick days. Since Varre's youngest has a cleft palate that has required surgery, she has gone without pay to be with her child in the hospital.

"One more day means so much to me," Varre said. "I love my job and I work hard at it. But I also love my kids, and this contract means I will get to have more time with them."

- Betsy Sandberg

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