On a muggy Monday outside the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus, dozens of custodians, groundskeepers and maintenance workers employed by SSC, a Compass Group subsidiary that now handles food and facilities services at USF, rallied on April 29 for a first union contract, higher wages and what they called truly family affordable health coverage. The protest came after the university outsourced roughly 400 mostly blue collar jobs in 2024, a move workers say cost long time staff their state pensions and pushed them into more expensive private insurance plans. Union leaders and local elected officials joined the crowd as negotiations with SSC slid into a tense phase.
“There’s so many broken promises that have already taken place,” maintenance technician Onex Cortez told the rally. Fellow worker Luz Estella Palacio Amaya said a $2,000 copay under her new health plan was simply out of reach. As reported by Creative Loafing Tampa, workers say SSC repeatedly assured them there would be no real changes when USF privatized the jobs in October 2024, only to see pay stagnate and benefits deteriorate by early 2025. Marchers waved purple “Fair Contract NOW” banners and pressed SSC to bring back health coverage that families can actually use.
In a statement to WUSF, SSC’s vice president of marketing and communications said the company values its associates and is committed to negotiating in good faith while keeping campus services running. Tampa City Council members Luis Viera and Lynn Hurtak stood with the workers at the rally and publicly backed their push for better terms. Rank and file employees say that despite SSC’s promises, the proposals on the table so far do not make enough of a dent in health care costs or restore a sense of retirement security.
Union backing and bargaining
According to 32BJ SEIU, the union, which represents more than 185,000 property service workers nationwide, is now bargaining on behalf of the newly organized USF group. The union is calling for a 6 percent wage increase. SSC has countered with a 1.5 percent raise, a figure workers note is about 23 cents an hour for someone earning $15, as reported by Creative Loafing Tampa. “It’s just money right now,” 32BJ Florida director Helene O’Brien told the outlet, saying that healthcare and meaningful raises remain the main sticking points in the talks.
SB 256 and the wider fallout
A report by WLRN detailed how a 2023 state law, known as SB 256, forced many public sector unions into recertification drives and resulted in dozens of decertifications. Labor organizers argue that this climate has helped clear the path for privatization moves and contracting decisions like the one at USF. Creative Loafing Tampa reporting on the USF situation links the October 2024 outsourcing on campus to that broader squeeze on public sector bargaining power. Advocates warn that losing negotiated pensions and employer paid family health plans can lock frontline workers into two tier systems where newer hires bring home less pay and shoulder more of the cost of care.
What’s next
Negotiations between 32BJ and SSC are still in progress, and union leaders say they intend to keep pressing until they win a contract that restores affordable family coverage and delivers what they view as a meaningful wage bump. SSC has reiterated to WUSF that it is willing to continue bargaining and remains focused on maintaining what it describes as a positive work environment for its associates. Workers and community supporters say they plan to maintain a visible presence on campus until any final deal addresses pay, healthcare and retirement concerns in a way they can live with.
