Marissa Bremer-Roark, a building and grounds worker at the University of Minnesota, leads her fellow workers in a chant calling for higher wages on Aug. 30, 2022. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.
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.
Chartwells did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“UMN’s workers should not be facing systemic poverty and racial disparities driven by the university’s own policies. With a $6 billion endowment and $71 million budget surplus, UMN should be dismantling inequity, not reinforcing it,” said Brian Aldes, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 320, in a statement.
Service workers at the university also authorized a strike three years ago, but called it off after reaching an agreement that raised the minimum hourly wage from $15 to $20.
In announcing their intention to strike, the union boasted of its large strike fund that would allow its members, many who live paycheck-to-paycheck, to forgo wages and walk the picket line in the event of a protracted strike. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters approved enhanced strikes benefits for University of Minnesota members of $1,000 per week, which exceeds the weekly pay of many members, the union said.
The intent to strike filing triggers a 10-day cooling off period during which the two sides must negotiate in sessions facilitated by the Bureau of Mediation Services.
Comments