FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2022
Jeffco Public Schools settles with food service managers in class action grievance over pay
Jeffco’s pay for sales structure was not fairly implemented when school lunch serving volume increased with free meals for all students last year.
GOLDEN, CO. – The Jefferson County Public School District settled a class action grievance with 32 kitchen managers represented by JESPA. The settlement of almost $60,000 was agreed upon just days before the school district was due before an arbitrator.
The grievance was filed to correct pay for kitchen managers who were serving enough meals to move up in classifications according to a new pay for sales scheme that was implemented last school year. JESPA had also filed a grievance on the district’s failure to properly bargain with JESPA over that pay scheme before implementation, forcing the district to negotiate the terms at the bargaining table.
“We expect Jeffco FNS to adhere to their own policies,” said Zander Kaschub, kitchen manager and president of JESPA’s food service local. “If the MEQ pay for performance plan isn’t all they hyped it up to be, they should take note and bring the next proposal to the bargaining table instead of promoting a doomed policy.”
31 managers were not earning the higher wages they were promised through the district’s new pay scheme, even though their serving volume increased dramatically last year due to the free school meals provided through the USDA. Now, they will see backpay for their efforts on this grievance.
“This settlement shows that we can make things right when we come together as a union,” says Andrea Cisneros, kitchen manager and Vice President of JESPA’s food service local. “We stood together to negotiate for a better pay system in our contract for managers and to hold the district accountable to their own pay scheme. There is still a lot of work left to do to increase pay and make sure it is fair for all food service employees.”
About JESPA
The Jeffco Education Support Professionals Association is a union of 3,800 support professionals working together to ensure all students have the support they need every day, in every public school and in every neighborhood in Jefferson County. JESPA strives to ensure that workers have a voice in our workplaces so that our students can learn and thrive from the moment their school day begins to the moment it ends.
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