In both the worlds of fiction and reality, "lunch ladies" (or as they're professionally known as, school food service workers) are taking a stand to create a better tomorrow.

In fiction, it's in the form of an increasingly-popular "graphic novel," starring a lunch lady whose mission is "serving justice - and serving lunch." The stories, written for young readers aged 5 to 10, center around the lunch lady and her fellow food service workers foiling evil school-related plots (for example, stopping an unpopular teacher's scheme to win the "Teacher of the Year Award," or battling a group of librarians who want to destroy all video games).
The stories are becoming so popular that Saturday Night Live alumna Amy Poehler has begun to executive produce a movie based on the series.

In the real world, school food service workers are coming out to take a stand for better lunches. Here's a great clip from local news channel WITI in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, covering the issue:

If you're a school food service worker or a concerned parent (you're a superhero, too, trust me!), you can also take matters into your own hands by visiting our page on the Child Nutrition Act: http://campaignforqualityservices.org/a/schoolmeals/index.php

Leslie Williams, a school food service worker, has been at the job for 20 years.

When she talks about her job, she lovingly refers to the children as "her babies." They rely on her to take care of them and cook them a wholesome meal during lunch. Sometimes, it's the only hot meal that they get that day.

"You know some of these children aren't going to get another meal until they come back in on Monday, and that's the hardest part of all," she says.

I had the pleasure of meeting Leslie just the other week, when she was in town for our Lobby Day, where she talked to Congress about the need to improve the Child Nutrition Act.

I was moved by her dedication and commitment to her job - and, even more, to the children that she serves. She speaks with a passion, whether she's talking about cooking, ensuring that every child is fed, or when she has a thought on how to improve school meals.

I wanted to share this video with you - it's from the conversation that we shared - because I feel that we have much to learn from her.

Here's the video:

You can help Leslie improve the Child Nutrition Act by writing a letter to Congress here: http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/nutritionact.

Al Franken, like many ex-performers, knows when to arrive at stage right at the critical moment of a new play. Six months into the new Obama administration as we now get ready to pass for the first time in 223 years, a healthcare bill and in the coming months, the Employee Free Choice Act, Sen. Al Franken's presence and strong leadership in the Senate couldn't have come at a better time.

"He may have been a little slow in getting here, but we'll excuse him because he has a lot of catching up to do," joked Andy Stern, congratulating the newly-seated U.S. Senator of Minnesota on his victory last week at a rooftop reception held at SEIU's headquarters in the Senator's honor to welcome him to Washington, DC. Also on hand to welcome Sen. Franken to Washington, DC were fellow Senator Amy Klobuchar and SEIU members, staff, and leaders.

Upon his arrival to the reception, Sen. Franken had some warm words of praise for SEIU and the efforts the union made on his behalf during his campaign:

"What an amazing asset to America Andy Stern--and the SEIU--is. Andy has been right at the front of the healthcare debate for years, and [addressing Andy] I want to thank you for that work. I also want to thank Anna Burger and the members and leaders of SEIU..."

Being the strong supporter of workers' freedom to form unions and bargain that he is, Franken--who is a member of four unions!--also expressed gratitude for the opportunities and security being a union member has provided him, wife Franni and his family:

[...] I'm a member of four unions. If it weren't for unions, Franni and I wouldn't have [had] healthcare for the last three years.

The Senator for Minnesota also discussed his plans for the working people of this country, now that he's finally been seated [Franken's first legislative act as Senator was to co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act].

Now that I'm in the Senate, I guess I get their healthcare....and that's the healthcare that every American should get.

We're going to do that. I'm on the HELP committee, and we're going to do that. It's the first thing we're going to do. And we're going to do just a lot of great stuff...we're going to pass EFCA. We're going to make sure people have a level playing field to organize. We're going to create jobs in this country, and renewable energy...We need to do all these things--and I know we can. There are so many great possibilities ahead of this country. Our best days are yet to come. And I'm just so proud to be a member of the Senate.

Every single person who supported Franken by going out and voting for him made a big difference in the outcome of Minnesota's extremely close election, which, as Sen. Franken pointed out, he only "won by 312 votes...It was a really close election!"

"Through this union, ordinary people get to do extraordinary things--like elect Al Franken," said SEIU President Andy Stern.

Yesterday, Service Workers United cafeteria workers from across the country went to Capitol Hill to lobby members of Congress for stronger USDA Child Nutrition Programs. One member of the group was Marlon Taylor, a food service worker from suburban Illinois. Here, Marlon discusses why he loves his job working with kids and why it's important to improve the Child Nutrition Act.

Last year in the U.S., a record 20 million subsidized school lunches were served each day. In Illinois, Taylor's home state, there were 713,755 free or reduced-price lunches served during the 2007-2008 school year alone.

Earlier this month, the agriculture appropriations committees in both chambers of Congress agreed to spend an additional $13 billion this year on nutrition programs. However, exactly how much of that will be allocated towards improving the quality and nutritional value of the food served to children in public schools remains up in the air.

Congress is scheduled to take up the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act this fall--which is why now is the time to lend your voice to tell Congress we need an improved Child Nutrition Act: http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/nutritionact

For the first time in the 63-year history of our nation's School Lunch Program, front-line food service workers are on Capitol Hill today to petition their government to strengthen the program that serves food to more than 30 million children every day.

Because of the current economic crisis, more and more families are relying on school food programs to provide their children with a complete and well-balanced meal. Last month, USA Today reported that "nearly 20 million children now receive free or reduced-price lunches in the nation's schools, an all-time high" and that "many school districts are struggling to cover their share of the meals' rising costs.

On Capitol Hill, the 80 food service workers - members of Service Workers United, and from all over the country - are advocating for stronger USDA Child Nutrition Programs that will:

• Improve food safety, nutrition, health and wellness, and customer service by raising workplace standards and providing living wages, benefits, paid sick leave, and training for all school food service workers.
• Increase federal reimbursement rates for meals to enable schools to cover the rising costs of meeting dietary guidelines and to purchase fresh, healthy foods.
• Reach more struggling families by relaxing eligibility requirements, streamlining application processes, and allowing for regional variations in cost of living in determining eligibility.

These 80 food service workers are representative of the more than 420,000 workers employed in school cafeterias throughout the country. Although these workers' mission is to fight poverty and hunger work, some of them are paid as low as $6.55 an hour with no benefits.

Do your part by signing on to tell Congress we need an improved Child Nutrition Act: http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/nutritionact

Members of the CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 chapter that represents the Connecticut Windham Public Schools' food service workers will speak out against outsourcing food services at Board of Education public forum tonight.

The union members who provide food services in Windham's public schools are committed to providing the district's children with healthy, nutritious meals every day--while outside contractors are less accountable to the taxpayer and cut corners in food quality, nutrition and service."Our schools' cafeteria program does not need to make a profit, so we can focus exclusively on providing the best quality, nutritious meals to the kids," said Mary Jackson, manager of food services at Windham High School.

Reversing the history of poor labor-relations in this country has been a priority of SEIU for more than five years. Tonight's speak out will be the fourth time members have organized community opposition to contracting-out services to a private, for-profit corporation at a Board event since March 2009.

During the school year in New Jersey, school lunch is provided at a reduced cost or for free to thousands of poor students to help eliminate at least one significant and widely recognized barrier to an education: hunger. The number of students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunches was up about 5 percent nationwide this spring, to nearly 19.4 million from 18.4 million the previous year, according to federal officials. These numbers were reflected in New Jersey's numbers as the number of NJ students receiving free and lower-cost lunches grew by 11 percent to over 340,000 during the 2008-2009 school year.

The economic downturn has left many families barely able to put food on the table, and school meals have been reported as a critical source of family food and nutrition for millions of America's children. But what happens to these children of low-income families when school lets out for the summer--do they just go without breakfast and lunch until September?

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Summer Food Service Program, the answer to this question is 'no.' Across the state of New Jersey, camps and food pantries have geared up to meet an increasing need for more feeding locations.

In a move that "could have a major effect on public school food service workers' wages," the New Jersey State Legislature is considering a new bill that would make sure that workers are paid the prevailing wage, according to business magazine NJBIZ.

The bill would allow food service workers to enter the middle class and "reduce their dependence on the government for health care and other support." It would also mandate sick leave, which would alleviate workers of the burden of choosing between a day's pay or coming to work while sick.

SEIU's Kevin Brown, an area director for Local 32BJ is quoted in the article as saying that the bill will "allow people to give back in taxes and spending," which would also help the economy.

The bill's sponsor, State Sen. Fred Madden (D-Washington) says the bill will save the state money "by reducing workers' needs for social services." Currently, the food service industry, according to NJBIZ, "has the highest percentage of workers using state-funded NJ FamilyCare healthcare." Sen. Madden hopes that the bill can be voted on in the fall.

Read the full article here.

You can also help to lend your support for workers' sick days by signing our official petition here: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/swusickdays

A proposal to subcontract out food service workers at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC was recently defeated by 1199SEIU members. Medstar, the operator of the hospital, told workers that it intended to subcontract the entire dietary department to the operator that was already managing part of the area.

But the members came together to oppose the plan, and voiced their concerns to management about plan and the proposed subcontractor. Within just three days, workers received a letter from management saying that the subcontracting deal was off and that they were going to refocus efforts to improve the kitchen. Read more at the 1199SEIU News Center.

Thousands of school food service workers in New Jersey are living at or near poverty, according to a new report commissioned by SEIU Local 32BJ. The report found that the average hourly wage for food preparation workers in educational services was only $8.15, and revealed that many of these jobs pay no more than the NJ state minimum wage of $7.15.

The report, prepared by the Rutgers University Center for Women and Work/School of Management, ascertained that 64 percent of NJ K-12 school districts contract their food service to an outside company and that those private sector cafeteria jobs are largely part-time and typical offer with no affordable health benefits. As a result, most workers are uninsured or forced to turn to the state's public health insurance programs-- a result that contributes largely to the school food service industry acting as one of the biggest drains on New Jersey FamilyCare, as over 6,300 employees and their children covered by the taxpayer-funded state health assistance plan.