St. Paul school nutrition workers to vote on tentative contract

St. Paul public schools nutrition services workers will vote Thursday on a new tentative contract that raises the wages of the lowest-paid employees, Teamsters Local 320 announced. The union, which had authorized a strike if needed, reached the deal after more than 16 hours of mediation.
The contract “elevates all workers paid below $15 per hour up to $15 by 2019,” the union said in a statement. About 110 employees will be affected. All workers covered by the two-year contract will receive 2 percent annual wage increases in addition to step increases for those employees not at the top of the pay scale.
“We spent over 16 hours in state-facilitated mediation to hammer out this collective bargaining agreement that will reward over 300 nutrition services employees,” said Brian Aldes, secretary-treasurer and principal officer of Local 320.
“The peer-elected negotiations committee recommends ratification of this agreement by the full bargaining unit membership. Teamsters Local 320 continues to lead the fight for a $15 minimum wage in St. Paul.”
The tentative agreement was reached at 1 a.m. Wednesday, Aldes said. The vote whether to ratify the contract will take place at a meeting starting at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Regional Council of Carpenters building, 710 Olive St., St. Paul.