Union members from Bryant College, represented by the Service Employees International Union, returned to work on Friday, Nov. 13, after a 10-day contract dispute with the school’s food service contractor. On the same day service workers from The Westin hotel represented by the Hotel and Restaurant Employees & Bartenders Union held a 90-minute informational picket with some help from a group of Unitarian ministers in town for a convention.
Both unions are concerned about increasing the wages of service workers, particularly at a time when state officials often point out the importance of hospitality and service jobs to Rhode Island’s economy.
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“We actually were out on their (Bryant workers’) picket line supporting them. It’s a very similar fight,” said Alisa Gallo, a union representative for Local 217 Hotel and Restaurant Employees & Bartenders Union.
The Westin workers’ union has been negotiating a new contract for about two-and-a-half months, Gallo explained. The first contract expired on Nov. 1. Though they have picketed four times in front of the downtown hotel — to draw the attention of both the public and management to their grievances — the union’s estimated 275 members have not called for a strike, she added.
Last week, both sides were scheduled to meet three times with a federal mediator. A spokesman for hotel management, who asked not to be identified, said they would also meet on Monday “if necessary.”
“We feel obviously that our position (on wages and benefits) is at or above market averages,” the hotel spokesman added. “We’re negotiating in good faith and hoping a federal negotiator can help close the process,” he said.
The union is asking for higher wages, less expensive health insurance, and a pension plan, according to Gallo. A family insurance plan now costs workers $35.50 a week, and they only have a voluntary 401(k) plan, Gallo explained. Wages vary and some union members routinely receive tips to supplement their wages, but on average workers earn an estimated $16,000 annually, she said. There are some workers earning less than $7 an hour, who do not typically receive gratuities during the workday, Gallo said.
“The concern is, if these are the jobs of the future in Providence, how do we make sure these are the jobs that people can live on?” she said. “Remember in a union facility we’ve established that the majority of jobs should be full-time. There’s no question these jobs are on the better end of the industry.”
The workers did vote to authorize their committee to authorize negotiation actions, including calling a strike, Gallo said. “We hope that doesn’t happen.”
On Thursday, Nov. 12, the 38 food service workers from Bryant College in Smithfield, who belong to the Service Employees International Union, Local 134, ratified their new contract. They returned to work the following day. They are employed by ARAMARK Food Services Corp. of Philadelphia, which runs two dining areas on campus and a bagel cart. It employs about 125,000 people across the country.
“We had, I think, a pretty good settlement,” said Karen McAninch, the union’s business agent. The settlement also means that about 70 members of Bryant’s physical plant workers’ union also returned to work and Rhode Island Public Transit Authority buses began stopping on campus again. Neither group would cross the picket line.
The union membership voted unanimously to accept a new offer from ARAMARK on Thursday, which was the second day the parties met with a federal mediator. A major point of contention in the negotiations involved raising the workers’ pay rate. Although the two sides were close in the amounts being requested — ARAMARK offered $1 an hour over three years, while the union wanted $1.15 cents an hour — the real problem stemmed from how and when the raises would be disbursed.
ARAMARK proposed a series of raises every six months, but the union wanted more money up front. On average union members earn $9.50 an hour and work 35 hours a week, McAninch said.
“We’re definitely happy to have everyone back to work,” said Bill Petti, director of dining services for ARAMARK at Bryant College.
