UC-Davis Absorbs Food Workers

The University of California-Davis added nearly 200 food-service workers and about 400 student employees to its employment rolls on January 2, taking them over from dining services provider Sodexo, reports the Sacramento Bee. Under a four-year extension of its contract, which now runs to June 2014 and is worth about $23 million annually, Sodexo will continue to manage the general food service program in the residence halls, retail outlets, catering services, concessions and vending operations, but the workers will be employed by the university, with its full benefits package. The deal stems from a 2006 dispute about wage and benefit disparities between what university employees and Sodexo employees receive.