After five months of difficult negotiations with their new employer, the food service professionals in Ridgefield Public Schools cafeterias
finally have a contract. Chartwells has mailed a signed
copy of the agreement members of our Council 760 Chapter representing the district's "lunch ladies" ratified earlier this month. Now they can again focus on their number one priority -- preparing and serving healthy, nutritious meals to the community's schoolchildren.
The day we issued our statement alerting the region's press that our members had voted overwhelmingly in favor of the agreement, Ridgefield Patch
posted a brief story at their website.
The following Saturday, the News-Times
featured a lengthy article on our members' vote that includes the comments of Chapter President Maureen Hulse.
The article highlights some of the
workplace and economic improvements our members won in negotiations with Chartwells, though the reference to the new 401(k) retirement plan is somewhat unclear. The company is providing $0.35 for each $1.00 our members contribute to their account, rather than an equivalent match.
The Ridgefield Press has an article
reporting on our contract win in this week's edition that also features Maureen's comments.
Our members' efforts to secure a fair agreement with one of the giants in the professional, for-profit food service trades captured the attention of industry-watchers, political activists, school lunch advocates, and other workers in the field. When we announced the contract ratification vote, the national blog Democratic Underground
posted our release in full.
The public pressure our
members have generated since the school board voted in June to replace their former employer built a great deal of pressure to move Chartwells to finally offer a fair contract. Without the support from district parents and other schools' faculty, the dispute with a global corporation based in Europe could easily have drug on for much longer.
Which is why it's important to remember that the Board of Education did not listen when Maureen and her co-workers
spoke out against changing the district's contractor six months ago.
Going forward, to help them avoid repeating the pattern of "throw out the old vendor, invite labor unrest," it will be important to develop a better line of communication with school officials. Now that the dispute over a tie on Election Day has
finally been settled, our members can begin educating Ridgefield's Board of Education on why students' meal choices shouldn't be caught up in a bidding war between food service corporations.
Posted by:
Matt OConnor on 11/30/2009 at 4:02:00 PM