Joseph Gomez Kitchen Staff Protests ‘Unbearable’ Conditions

The kitchen staff at Joseph A. Gomez Elementary School staged a demonstration on Wednesday, protesting what they described as intolerable working conditions that have persisted for nearly three months. Early morning photos posted on social media showed workers outside, taking a break from what they describe as the sweltering kitchen environment that has plagued the school due to broken air conditioning units.

Despite the heat, workers structured their demonstrations Wednesday around the students, still serving breakfast and lunch before heading back outside to protest. The Virgin Islands Education Department and the Bureau of School Construction and Maintenance (BSCM) acknowledged the demonstration in a press release Wednesday, attributing the ongoing issues to a malfunctioning air conditioning system crippled by recurring power surges on campus. These surges have rendered the system ineffective, particularly in the kitchen area, where temperatures have become untenable, according to the release.

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