USC Settles 4-Year Dispute With Cafeteria, Janitorial Workers

The bitter four-year labor dispute between USC and its cafeteria workers and janitors over a written guarantee of job security was settled Monday.

The university and the workers, represented by Local 11 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, have reached a new five-year collective bargaining agreement.

The high-profile standoff, which attracted the attention of celebrities and religious leaders such as Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, stemmed from the union’s demand that the university pledge in writing that it would not hire an outside contractor to perform the jobs handled by 360 union employees.

When the workers’ contract expired in 1995, USC and the union agreed on nearly all terms of a renewal. But a new contract was not signed because the university and the union could not agree on a pledge against subcontracting services.

That issue was settled Monday in what both sides said was a compromise.

“The new agreement maintains the university’s ability to contract out as it determines necessary, while at the same time strengthening the job security afforded the employees,” according to a joint statement issued by the university and the union.

Philip J. Chiaramonte, USC’s associate vice president for auxiliary services, said it was critical that the university retain the right to subcontract jobs so it would have the flexibility to “react to changing economic or market conditions.”

“The compromise on our part was that we would work through a consulting process with the union to attempt to avert subcontracting,” he said.