The workers at the Portland Convention Center, members of UNITE HERE Local 9 employed by Aramark as servers, concession stand workers, and kitchen workers, finally won their year-long battle for a new contract in early September.  Portland Jobs with Justice was proud to stand with the workers as they stood up for health care benefits, living wages, and to keep management from taking their gratuities.

Workers built a strong committee and active participation from all parts of the bargaining unit.  The whole union fought for increased wages for the lowest paid kitchen staff, and other key issues were health care and gratuities.  Even though a number of workers were entitled to health care, they had not been getting it.  A delegation presenting petitions from the workers and community early in the contract campaign won coverage for several additional workers.  When the contract was settled, health benefits were expanded and improved.  Under the old contract, management kept 25% of workers’ gratuities.  The workers, for the first time ever, put a cap on the amount of gratuities management could keep, and got transparency about where the gratuity money goes.  In the past management used the gratuity money to comp event tickets for

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