PAGE 22 | August 18, 2017 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
PSU food service contract changes hands, union contract remains
At PSU, Salt and Straw ice cream
and Stumptown Coffee will be
served by AFSCME members
About 90 food service workers
at Portland State University
(PSU) continue to have a union
— and a union contract — even
though the company that em-
ployed them lost its contract
with the university.
As of June 30, Aramark was
out, and Chartwells was in —
providing food services at Smith
Memorial Student Union and
university dorms, as well as
conferences and events at
Viking Pavilion and other cam-
pus locations, including the Uni-
versity Place Hotel and Confer-
ence Center.
But with help from university
officials, Oregon AFSCME rep-
resentative Ross Kiely was able
to persuade Chartwells to recog-
nize the existing union and
agree to the terms of its contract
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
State worker unions reach
tentative agreement on
‘lean budget’ raises
Oregon AFSCME and the
State of Oregon reached tenta-
tive agreement Aug. 9 on a
new two-year contract cover-
ing just under 3,000 employ-
ees at 14 state agencies, in-
cluding the Building Codes
Division, Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality,
Oregon Liquor Control Com-
mission, and others.
It’s a tight-budget agree-
ment, owing to a sizable state
budget shortfall.
“It’s a deal that meets the
state’s needs and our mem-
bers’ needs in a tough eco-
nomic time,” said Oregon AF-
SCME Executive Director
Stacy Chamberlain. “Our
members are taxpayers who
live and invest in our commu-
nities too.”
The agreement contains no
wage increase for the first
year, and a 1 percent increase
the second year, taking effect
June 15, 2018. It also ends the
“PERS pickup,” a decades-old
agreement in which the em-
ployer has paid the statutorily-
mandated employee pension
contribution — 6 percent of
gross pay. To make up for that
concession, the contract pro-
vides for a 6.95 percent raise
on Feb. 1, 2018. The new con-
tract also maintains existing
health insurance on the same
terms, as well as the existing
schedule of step pay increases.
And for the first time, the con-
tract will require employers to
take action against workplace
bullying and “micro-aggres-
sions” — small unintentional
sexist or racist comments that
contribute to offense in the
workplace.
If members ratify it as ex-
pected, the contract will run
through June 30, 2019.
Oregon AFSCME is the
smaller of two large bargain-
ing units of state employees.
Service Employees Interna-
tional Union (SEIU) Local
503 represents the larger unit,
with 19,000 workers. That unit
is mid-way through a four-
year agreement, except that
wages and benefits for the fi-
nal two years were negotiated
this year. Local 503 reached
tentative agreement July 25 on
similar terms to AFSCME, ex-
cept that they’ll get a 1.85 per-
cent increase in June 2018.
The state also agreed to add a
$15 an hour wage floor to the
SEIU contract, which will re-
sult in raises for several hun-
dred state office workers and
janitors. SEIU members
agreed to give up their PERS
pick-up two years ago.
with Aramark, which runs
through the end of 2018. The
contract provides for medical,
dental, and vision coverage,
paid vacation, free meals, and
wages that range from $0.25 to
$2.25 above minimum wage,
plus basic union rights like pro-
gressive discipline, a grievance
process, and seniority.
Chartwells also hired all the
Aramark employees who
wanted to continue on.
Baristas, cooks, cashiers, and
other PSU food service workers
have been represented by Ore-
gon AFSCME since 2001, first
at Aramark, then for two years
under Sodexho, and at Aramark
again for the last 10 years.
They make up AFSCME Lo-
cal 1336. Local 1336 president
Nicole Stroup is also a member
of United Food & Commercial
Workers Local 555, through her
work at St. Johns Fred Meyer.
Chartwells’ contract with
PSU will run a minimum of five
years. The company is bringing
popular new vendors to campus,
including Salt and Straw, Cha
Cha Cha, Smith Tea Maker,
Stumptown Coffee and Roman
Candle Baking. Thanks to the
AFSCME contract, they’ll be
staffed by union members.
Low Prices!
Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6
Organized in Oregon and
SW Washington Since 1904!
PLEASE ENJOY THOSE UNION - MADE HAMBURGER
AND HOT DOG BUNS AT YOUR LABOR DAY PICNIC .
140
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco
Workers and Grain Millers Local 114
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