Service Workers at U. Minnesota Threaten Strike Ahead of Fall Semester
“Our pay isn’t keeping up with inflation and many of us are forced to work multiple jobs”
The timing here is obviously not a coincidence.
The Minnesota Reformer reports:
University of Minnesota service workers threaten system-wide strike ahead of fall semester
The union representing more than 1,400 service workers across the University of Minnesota’s five campuses filed an intent to strike on Thursday as negotiations stall over wages and health care costs.
Teamsters Local 320 said 97% of cooks, groundskeepers, truck drivers, custodians and other unionized service workers voted to authorize a strike last month and could walk off the job as soon as Aug. 20, raising the prospect of major disruptions to campus operations as students return for the fall semester.
“Our pay isn’t keeping up with inflation and many of us are forced to work multiple jobs,” said Christy O’Connor, a 26-year senior building and grounds worker in a statement.
The university has proposed raising workers’ health care costs by 10%, which would eat away much of the 4.5% wage increase proposed by the university over the next three years, according to the union. The Teamsters’ latest proposal is 17% raises over three years.
A spokesperson for the University of Minnesota said they are bargaining in good faith but higher education faces significant financial headwinds.
“The university is not immune to those challenges,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement. “The university has plans in place should a strike occur and is fully committed to minimizing any disruption this action might cause for our students, faculty, staff, and community.”
The university also wants to be able to bypass seniority and pay new hires higher wages than current staff in the same position, a nonstarter for the union. The university turned to gig workers in the past to fill open dining services positions, paying people with no experience 35% more per hour than full-time staff with years of service.
Also at issue is the company that runs the university’s food service operations, Chartwells Higher Ed. The union alleges the company’s supervisors have harassed and unfairly disciplined rank-and-file workers, who are managed by Chartwells but employed by the university.
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Comments
This is the union Kamala told to “get on board.”
A union that orchestrates strikes that make her entire national campaign look like a fleeing crowd scene from Godzilla.