After six months of negotiations, food workers at Mayo Clinic reach tentative deal

ROCHESTER — Unionized food workers at Mayo Clinic locations across the state have reached a tentative agreement with employer Morrison Healthcare that could mean up to a 12.5% raise for some.

The deal wraps up six months of negotiations for about 600 members of SEIU Healthcare, Teamsters Local 120 and AFSCME Council 65. Union groups voted last week to ratify the contract, which SEIU officials say will be tabulated and released early this week.

"We're pleased," said Jamie Gulley, president of SEIU Healthcare of Minnesota and Iowa. "We're pretty happy to have a tentative agreement."

Workers struck a previous agreement in 2017 around the same time they switched employers from Mayo to Morrison, a medical food service provider based out of Georgia.

Morrison contracts with Mayo at locations in Rochester and Mayo Clinic Health System locations in Albert Lea, Mankato and Fairmont. Workers prepare everything from regular meals to medical diets for patients.

The deal includes wage increases of at least 7.5% for all workers backdated to July 1, with higher pay bumps at Mayo Clinic Health System locations to bring them closer in line with workers in Rochester. Workers will also receive wage increases totaling an additional 10.5% over the five-year agreement.

Gulley said that means new workers will start out at about $20 an hour, while senior workers with decades of experience in Rochester could be paid as much as $50,000 to $60,000 annually.

A spokesperson for Morrison Healthcare said the agreement reflects the "spirit of our partnership with SEIU, AFSCME, and Teamsters, and a shared commitment to serve the Mayo Clinic community."

Union officials say the deal was a bit of a surprise as negotiators dealt with mediators for several months, which prompted them to picket in front of Mayo Clinic in Rochester in August. Morrison officials came forward with a better deal at the beginning of October and both sides spent the past few weeks finalizing the agreement.

"It was a long few months and the significant wage increase is a step in the right direction of having our work respected and appreciated," said Leslie Kaup, a worker in Albert Lea who helped negotiate the contract.

Kaup noted workers and management alike hope the agreement draws more new hires to a somewhat stressful part of regional health care. Food worker shortages at Mayo Clinic have only increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and hiring turnover remains high.