The Local 792 Bargaining Committee knew that they had to get their membership involved as they prepared for contract negotiations, but they were surprised that a routine information request gave them a key opportunity to do so. Local 792 members organized in 1994 and have been employed by contractor Quest Food Management Services since 2023. They do food service work at Wright State University, an Ohio public university near Dayton. Last semester, they realized that part of the reason new members did not return to work after the summer was low wages — they were being kept at the new hire rate for six months, long after their probationary period was over. They approached Quest for mid-contract bargaining and in October won a memorandum of agreement that moved new hires to job code rate after 90 days. Sadly, new hire turnover remained high. Sometimes people left before there was even time for them to understand all the benefits of being a union member.
Local 792 member Brenda Nickles makes $5,000 worth of sales for Quest daily and manages to not make errors that add up to almost $1,000 at any point ... unlike management.
In January, the UE Local 792 bargaining committee asked Quest for a seniority list with current wage rates as part of their preparations for bargaining. They were shocked to see the new MOA was not being honored, and worse, a local Quest manager had not even moved new hires up to the rate they were supposed to have been making as of April. Vice President Printus Forward immediately went to management and demanded a remedy. The local manager responsible has since been terminated. A total of nine affected members will receive backpay awards totaling $974.25. Printus said, “Resolving our back pay issue with new employees made them more aware of what the union does for them: someone is watching their back.”
The Local 792 bargaining committee used this opportunity to engage with the new members and build unity. As they approach negotiations, all union members are ready to show Quest they will have to raise everyone’s wages to ensure that this is a sustainable job.
The UE Local 792 Bargaining Committee consists of Vice President Printus Foward, Recording Secretary Erin Wright, Sharry Bucholz, and April King. They were assisted by Field Organizer Heather Hillenbrand.