On Wednesday, August 27, 2008, cafeteria workers employed by the Amherst Public Schools ratified their first collective bargaining agreement.    How this groundbreaking agreement came to be is the result of a long and complicated history.

Beginning over five years ago, the Amherst School Committee began to privatize food service operations within the public schools.  A private contractor, Chartwells, was brought in to oversee food service.   Several open food service positions were then filled by Chartwells employees.  As the majority of food service workers were directly employed by the Amherst Schools as public employees with public employee benefits, the new employees employed by Chartwells were not public employees but private company employees, most without the benefits and wage scales enjoyed by the public sector food service workers.

This situation, awkward as it was, continued onward until 2007, fully exploding into an all-out anti-privatization battle in 2008.  Triggered by a new Amherst Schools administration attempt to save money that was being lost by reduced state funding, full privatization of the food service operation was met by strong worker and community resistance.  Led by bargaining unit members and a community group called "Social Justice for Lunch Ladies", confrontations between anti-privatization forces and the Amherst School Committee/administration escalated into school committee meeting shouting matches, news articles, op-ed pieces, impromptu informational pickets, student activities, parent activities, and a postponement by Representative Town Meeting in passing the yearly budget for the whole Town of Amherst until the outsourcing of the public schools food service contract was addressed.

While this was all taking place, Local 1459 conducted an organizing drive that led to all public sector food service workers signing an authorization petition in accordance with new Massachusetts law that allowed for card-check recognition amongst public sector workers in the Commonwealth.  Our bargaining unit status was certified on March 27, 2008 by the newly-created Massachusetts Division of Labor Relations.  

The struggle to defeat privatization ultimately lost, and the food service contract in the Amherst Public Schools was put out to bid.  The winning respondent was Whitsons Food Service out of Long Island New York.   However, in deference to public outcry, the Amherst Schools administration had made concessions to existing public sector workers, allowing for severance packages and, for some, retention as town employees (public employees) for up to two years after Whitsons took over the food service contract.

With this history as the backdrop, Local 1459 found itself negotiating with two different employers (Amherst Schools and Whitsons) with regards to negotiating two separate labor contracts covering the same group of food service workers.   The labor contract negotiations with Whitsons are still in process.  However, the Amherst Schools have reached agreement with Local 1459 regarding the residual employees who have elected to remain public employees for the time being.

Local 1459 made a commitment to the cafeteria workers of the Amherst Public Schools that we would stand with them even through the most difficult of times.  Reaching an agreement that protects not only wages, but benefit levels and working conditions is certainly strong evidence of our commitment to not only these workers but all workers.   Congratulations to our new union members from the Amherst Schools cafeterias!