UMN service workers poised to begin striking over labor contract

Utility workers at the University of Minnesota are preparing to go on strike following the rejection of the school s latest labor contract Members of Teamsters Local which represents janitorial maintenance and food provision workers were expected to start halting work Monday night as part of the systemwide strike If we have to strike we will stated Grady Johnson a union steward and gardener at the Twin Cities campus We want a fair contract and we re very close I still think I hope this can be resolved and we can go back to our day-to-day being at the university The workers strike was to begin at p m Monday on the Crookston and Morris campuses and expand to Duluth and satellite campuses early Tuesday morning Workers at the Twin Cities campus were scheduled to join the strike Tuesday at p m The union s current contract expired June and negotiations have been ongoing since late March Union members filed an intent to strike Aug with initial plans for the strike to begin Aug just as students were starting to return The university put forth a new contract its last best and final offer on Aug and the strike was put on hold so workers could consider the contract Votes were held across campuses leading up to last Friday s deadline when the contract offer expired With an majority union members voted to reject the offer citing frustrations over annual wage increases and changes to the contract s expiration date The university likes to talk about all the uncertainties that they re facing but we are facing notable uncertainties as workers as well reported Kayli Staubus who works as a cook at UMD and served on the union s negotiation committee If there are cuts and belt-tightening that necessities to be done there are other places that can happen besides our bargaining unit which is particular of the absolute lowest-paid workers on campus In response to Friday s vote the university stated that current financial pressures have played a role in union negotiations this year but it remains committed to prioritizing faculty and staff members The University must balance the necessities and desires of Teamsters Local members with the University s obligation to its plenty of stakeholders to be good financial stewards particularly given the financial challenges we are facing Gregg Goldman executive vice president for finance and operations at the university noted in a message disclosed Friday As part of their membership the Teamsters union includes cooks and other food arrangement workers as well as groundskeepers janitors parking attendants maintenance workers mechanics and more We are all over campus Basically every kind of institution position that there is is performed by Teamster staff declared Staubus So there s going to be a huge gap in the aspirant experience until the university makes this right Obviously we don t want that We re out here for a living wage job that people can afford to stick with for the duration and retire from someday she disclosed That s what we re here to win While the university has stated that it hopes to avoid a strike plans are being developed to ensure that vital services on campus continue if a resolution isn t reached There s a lot of frustration at the administration and a lot of determination that we deserve better and we re going to get it disclosed Johnson I m personally very proud of my job I really like my work and I m proud to work for the university And to that measure it does feel like a bit of a betrayal to get an offer that I think really doesn t give us a fair shake for what we do The university s last offer included a pay raise and two lump sum payments of to be paid out in fall and July Union members would also see a minimum pay increase the following year Shift differentials or added pay for employees working non-standard hours were also increased as part of the Aug contract Additionally the university s offer included an extension from six to weeks for how long an employee can be on leave before their job is optioned for reassignment Concerns over wage increases and the change to the contract end date have become the biggest sticking points in negotiations Staubus and Johnson both reported In the past the Teamster contract ended in the summer giving members time to organize outside of the school year However in this negotiation cycle the university has pushed for a December expiration date with the last offer optioning for a year-and-a-half-long contract concluding Dec That s something we re not willing to accept and membership has been very clear stated Johnson We feel this is a maneuver to ensure that we have less leverage bargaining with the university and given the way they ve been bargaining with us we re not willing to concede on that So it s just a non-starter At the start of negotiations union members petitioned for a pay increase after conducting an internal audit that manifested several of their most of populated job classifications had not kept up with the rate of inflation Other requests like increases for weekend shift differentials and free campus parking for workers were pushed to the wayside during negotiations commented Staubus to get to this point The tentative agreements that we have come to there was a lot of compromise involved in those on both parts Staubus added We have dropped a lot of things that are essential to either subsections or the entirety of our membership We hoped that the university would recognize all the movements that we ve made and respond in kind but it seems that they are digging in So if they re here to play hardball so are we Related Articles Twin Cities mom wants to help you have The Talk with your kids Gov Walz names four to fill UMN Board of Regents vacancies With new regents to arrive UMN faces series of challenges UMN College of Veterinary Medicine to open new teaching clinic on St Paul campus What makes a gang win things a Woodbury podcaster learned from local leaders