If No Deal Is Reached, Minneapolis Food Service Workers Could Also Strike

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Food service workers at Minneapolis Public Schools, who overwhelmingly voted last week to authorize a strike, are slated to hold a mediation session Friday with the district.

If no deal is reached during the mediation session, members of the SEIU Local 284 will be able to file a 10-day notice of a potential strike.

This comes as Minneapolis teachers are already on strike. Thursday marked day 3 of their picketing, and there's little sign that negotiations are bringing both sides closer to a settlement.

As for the food service workers, if the union files the notice on Friday, they could strike as soon as March 21. The workers are currently serving pick-up meals for students as classes have been canceled due to the teachers strike.

The food services workers say that while they were called "heroes" during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of them make as little as $10,000 a year. They are asking for higher pay and access to benefits.