Education News

Mpls. school food workers, district reach a contract deal

Joshua and Malik prepare samples of sunrise breakfast grain.
Two students help prepare samples of sunrise breakfast grain for a taste test at Bancroft Elementary School in February 2019.
Christine T. Nguyen | MPR News 2019

Updated: 4:20 p.m.

Members of a union representing around 200 food service workers in Minneapolis schools have reached a tentative contract agreement with the district.

The union says the deal includes “historic” wage increases, retroactive pay and improvements to other benefits such as life insurance and long-term disability.

The agreement was announced Thursday, two days after the union filed a 10-day notice for a potential strike. The union said its members have been working without a contract since the summer of 2020 and asked for dollar-an-hour raises. Under the new contract, workers would get a wage increase of $1 in the first year and $.75 in their second year.

Members are expected to vote to ratify the proposed contract in early April. The school board will need to vote to approve it.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis educators remain on strike, calling for limits on class sizes, increased pay and more mental health support for students.