Chicago Public Schools is planning to terminate its custodial contract with Aramark, a Philadelphia-based service firm giant, in favor of signing a labor agreement with seven vendors after years of complaints of dirty schools and inadequate cleaning.
The district will ask the Chicago Board of Education next week to approve a new contract for CPS to partner with new vendors for custodial services when the Aramark contract expires in June, according to a school board meeting agenda posted Monday.
A district spokesperson confirmed the looming separation from Aramark on Tuesday.
The transfer of custodial services will give the district in-house management, currently done by Aramark, and more oversight to ensure cleanliness of school facilities.
CPS handed over school custodial responsibilities to Aramark in 2014. The board most recently approved a three-year contract extension in 2021, despite widespread complaints of dirty buildings and classrooms across the district’s 600+ schools.
The district is also asking the board to increase the funding limit for Aramark’s services to $391 million, up from $369 million, for the remainder of that contract, citing “unforeseen expenditures associated with overtime, custodial supplies and custodial equipment.”
Chris Collum, Aramark spokesperson, said the district’s decision to seek a new contract was disappointing for the firm.
“We are disappointed that we were not selected to continue with facility services for CPS. We are proud of the efforts of our dedicated employees and are committed to ensuring a smooth transition to the school district,” Collum said in a statement.
The vendors include Chicago-based corporations Apache Service and Supply Co.; Diverse Facility Solutions, Inc.; GDI Services, Inc.; R.J.B. Properties Inc.; Total Facility Maintenance, Inc. and United Maintenance Company, Inc.; and Milwaukee-based Performance Clean LLC.
A three-year contract with the vendors would cost CPS $331 million for an initial three-year term, according to the meeting agenda. The transition will begin over the next few months to ensure limited interruptions to cleaning services.
Most of the vendors have previously worked in CPS schools as subcontractors through Aramark and went through a recent procurement process, the district said.
One of the listed vendors, United Maintenance, made headlines more than a decade ago after a janitorial contract at O’Hare International Airport, with the company raising concerns over custodian salaries and past labor complaints.
In 2002, United Maintenance’s parent company was named in a federal Independent Review Board investigation of Chicago Teamsters union leaders. United Maintenance’s president, Richard Simon, a former Chicago police officer was found to have colluded with Teamsters Union officials on a contract for workers for Las Vegas trade shows. Simon denied wrongdoing.
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The local chapter of the Service Employees International Union, which represents CPS custodians, celebrated the looming end of the Aramark contract and the return to direct management by CPS facilities instead of outside vendors.
“After ten years of fighting a $16 billion for-profit management company, we won. Aramark’s contract will not be renewed,” SEIU 73 said in a statement. “After ten years of Board custodians being mismanaged by outside vendors, CPS facilities will manage our members, supplies, and equipment directly.”
The district said it will work to ensure union custodians working under Aramark can apply for employment by one of next year’s vendors.
