Mayoral challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia joined the Chicago Teachers Union in a call for a $15 minimum wage for public schools employees and contractors on Wednesday, but did not say how the cash-strapped school district could pay for the expense.



The Garcia campaign event was held near CPS headquarters at Madison and Clark in the Loop and melded with a union rally where janitors whose contract is about to expire called for reinstatement of hundreds of custodians who were laid off and others moved to part time in October.



Garcia, who is running against Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the April 7 runoff, said every CPS employee and district subcontracted employee should "earn a living wage."



"I stand here today as someone who understands the plight of thousands and thousands of Chicagoans in Chicago neighborhoods who need to increase their wages," Garcia said. "They need to improve their wages so they can be better providers and take care of themselves so they can take better care of their families," he said.



Garcia, however, didn't specify how the district might pay for the wage hike.



"I'm standing here with workers who are earning as little as $10 an hour, saying that in order for the plight of Chicago neighborhoods to improve we need to raise those wages. That will be good for the employees, for their families and for their neighborhoods," said Garcia, who repeated his assertion that he could still represent taxpayers at the bargaining table as mayor even though the CTU is a driving force in his campaign.



The teachers union said it would request language in a developing labor agreement that would require CPS to pay district workers and union members a minimum of $15 an hour. CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey said the union believes a number of subcontracted workers, including employees hired to provide for the district's Safe Passage program, do not make $15 an hour.