Food service, transportation, custodial and maintenance employees in the South Whidbey School District last week approved contract changes that were negotiated earlier this summer.

During a special meeting on Sept. 17, members of the Service Employees International Union unanimously approved issues involving seniority and grievance procedures.

The two issues — creating a more even playing field among employees within job classifications and solving employees concerns before they escalate into grievances — were accepted unanimously by everyone at the meeting, said Dan Carter, acting SEIU president.

School district employees in food service, transportation, custodial and maintenance departments are members of SEIU. This includes bus drivers, food service workers, custodians, mechanics and maintenance workers.

Twenty-two members of the union attended the meeting, something Carter said “was a good showing for us.”

The district’s administration and the union negotiated a new contract last spring, but ran out of time on the two issues addressed last week.

Each side — administration and union — brought an item to the table for negotiation.

The bargaining unit brought the seniority issue to the table and the administration the new grievance procedure to the negotiation. The grievance procedure adds a step where an employee and supervisor can try to resolve an issue before it gets to the grievance stage.

The new contract identifies three types of seniority within SEIU; within a job classification, departmental seniority and overall time with the district.

Carter said an employee will not be able to carry seniority from one job classification to another in terms of overtime rotation and promotion.

For instance a food service worker with 15 years, who moves to the maintenance staff would start over in that classification. But total vacation and retirement would be credited based on total time working in the district.