Custodial contract talks off to rocky start in District 204

Custodians and groundskeepers in Indian Prairie Unit District 204 are asking the school board for help in their contract negotiations with ARAMARK, the private company that hired them.

But despite the request from roughly 60 people attending a recent meeting, school board members said they will not get involved in the contract talks that seem to have gotten off to a rocky start.

“Right now, things are not looking good from our first meeting and we want to make you all aware,” said Lonnell Saffold, director of institutional services with SEIU Local 1, the union that represents the workers. “We’re very, very concerned about the attitude and, to be perfectly honest, the arrogance at the bargaining table.”

District 204 has outsourced custodial and grounds maintenance services for the past eight years to ARAMARK. The company’s five-year contract with the district will be up for review in early 2013.

In the meantime, ARAMARK and the custodians have opened talks on a proposed three-year contract.

Those talks have just begun, Saffold told school board members, but ARAMARK negotiators have made it clear they aren’t interested in the union’s ideas. The company is insisting on a reduction in some worker benefits, he said.

“We don’t want to regress and that is what some of the proposals from management are suggesting,” Saffold said. “Maintenance workers can barely pay their mortgages and feed their families. It’s tough in these economic times.”

ARAMARK officials declined to address Saffold’s comments.

“While we cannot comment on the specifics of the ongoing negotiations, ARAMARK will continue to bargain in good faith with our employees and we are hopeful that we will soon reach an agreement that works for everyone,” said Karen Cutler, director of communications.

Saffold said some custodial employees feel there is “a lot of intimidation about their jobs” and they have heard comments like, “If you don’t like it, get another job.”

“They said they are tired of being threatened,” he said.

Custodial workers want District 204 to appoint a mediator to help with communication during negotiations.

“We want the school board to tell ARAMARK to do the right thing,” Saffold said. “We want to make sure our concerns are heard by the district who hired this company. We’re committed to serving the teachers and students in District 204.”