The Service Employees International Union Local 73 ratified a four-year contract with the University on Friday after more than nine months of negotiations.
The new contract guarantees yearly wage increases and a signing bonus for union members.
Members voted an overwhelming “yes” on the University’s contract proposal. Food service workers voted 89 percent in favor, while building service workers had a 93 percent approval rate, according to SEIU lead negotiator Ricky Baldwin. Baldwin said the vote speaks for itself regarding union members’ opinions of the new contract.
“The most important thing is these folks stuck together and stayed tough and some of the other unions on campus stayed with them,” Baldwin said. “It’s really a victory for the whole campus.”
Campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler said she was also relieved.
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“We’re delighted,” Kaler said. “It’s great to have everybody working together to serve our students.”
After the union and the University reached a tentative agreement on March 27, the SEIU negotiating team recommended members vote “yes” on the contract.
“If this vote had been ‘no,’ we would have had to go on strike again until we reached an agreement, which people didn’t want,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin speculated the final contract will include terms such as fitting food and dining service workers for shoes once a year.
In addition, employees will now be guaranteed to have two week’s notice before undergoing a shift change. Under the old contract, employees’ schedules were subject to change with minimal time to plan accordingly.
The last time union members voted on a contract with the University was March 10. They rejected the contract, citing wage increases being too low, and went on strike for three days. The University preferred a four-year contract, but Baldwin said the union was open to a three or four-year contract as long as wage increases were high enough.
With the new ratified contract, Baldwin said the University and the union will meet to review and sign the final agreement.
Dan can be reached at [email protected].
