JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The food service provider for the Duval County school district and the union representing food service workers reached a tentative agreement ahead of a potential strike that would have left Duval County Public Schools in jeopardy.
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the union representing the food service workers, and DCPS’s private contractor Chartwells K12 reached the agreement after months of negotiations.
The tentative agreement includes:
- Starting minimum rates of pay for food service workers going up to $14 in October 2024, $15 in October 2025 and $15.30 in October 2026.
- Starting rate pay increases for various classifications ranging from 2% to 14%.
- Longevity pay for senior employees.
- Stronger workplace protections and contract enforcement.
- Recognition of Juneteenth as a paid holiday for administrative building and summer employees.
If a deal wasn’t reached by the end of October, AFSCME said the workers would have voted to strike, meaning student meals would have been greatly impacted.
Union workers wanted to push for fair wages, more staff support from Chartwells, and more respect between chants criticizing the company for its greed.
Annette Taylor worked for the school district for 39 years and is the vice president of AFSCME. She expressed satisfaction with the agreement.
“We are excited that Chartwells saw the light, acknowledging that we are people, not just numbers on a spreadsheet, and if they are going to be successful in fulfilling their contract with the district, it is going to depend on us, the workers, being able to do our jobs,” Taylor said. “And we are proud of the Duval County Schools making it clear that they expect Chartwells to fulfil [sic] their contract, not letting them cut corners and put the services we provide the kids at risk just to pad their profits.”
The AFSCME will hold a special meeting over the weekend to decide when to make the ratification vote on the agreement. If the agreement is ratified, a strike will be avoided.