U of M service worker strike ends with tentative agreement

ST. PAUL (KFO-WCCO) — Service employees at all University of Minnesota campuses are going back to work as a tentative agreement was reached overnight.

About 1,400 workers will vote for ratification, and the earliest they’re expected back on the job is Sunday. The workers are represented by the Teamsters union.

The strike threatened next week’s Farm Aid concert at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Organizers, artists, and crews vowed not to cross picket lines to work the 40th anniversary celebration of the first Farm Aid concert. The concert is Sept. 20 at the home of the Gopher football team.

Union leaders revealed on social media that with the tentative agreement, the strike is over after five days. The union first posted on social media Friday that they received an offer from the state that met their demands. The post about the strike ending came a few hours later.

In a back-and-forth text Friday night between Governor Walz and Farm Aid’s Willie Nelson, the governor promised to “get ‘er done.”

Strike captain Grady Johnson says the strike, which spanned all five U of M campuses, reportedly led to overflowing trash and flooded dorms.

The custodial, maintenance, and food service workers had been seeking at least a 3.5% wage increase.