In late June, after months of back-and-forth negotiations, the SEIU bargaining team reached an agreement with Aramark on a new three-year contract for campus operations employees working at Meharry Medical College in Nashville. This is only the second agreement this unit has negotiated and it expires in July, 2022.

CONTRACT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Clearer language on how overtime work is offered so that overtime opportunities are shared
• Employees with 5 years seniority able to cash out up to 40 hours of vacation time each year and carry over up to 40 hours
• Employee percentage of monthly Medical premiums reduced starting in 2020. Reductions of up to 10% from current levels with no reduction in benefits. This will make health insurance much more affordable
• Company will continue to pay 100% of the premium for Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
• Starting pay rates increased for all classifications
• Step Increase – 2% step increases each year of the contract for all employees with one or more years of service
• Annual Wage Adjustments - All employees get a 1.5% raise each year (on top of step increases). In 2019, some employees will see an over 5% raise because of increased start rates
• No increase in employee parking rates for the term of the contract
• Full-time employees who formerly were employed by Meharry remain eligible to participate in Meharry’s Educational Assistance Benefits program