School to be Held on Normal Schedule Friday as Food Vendor Reaches Deal with Workers

PAWTUCKET – The Pawtucket School Department announced that an agreement has
been reached between Aramark, the district’s food service vendor, and the union that
represents the employees that serve food throughout our school community. School
will be held as scheduled tomorrow.

Superintendent of Schools Patti DiCenso said, «We are pleased that the parties were
able to come to a negotiated settlement and avoid any interruption in service. I
want all Pawtucket students, parents, teachers, and staff to know that school will
take place tomorrow, as scheduled, and the same high quality food service will be
provided.»

School Committee Chair Gerard Charbonneau said, «I applaud the union and Aramark for
reaching an agreement and ensuring that our students will continue to have the
services they deserve. I want to thank everyone involved with this process for
cooperating to reach an agreement. The support from Mayor Grebien and his
administration, working hand-in-hand with the Superintendent’s office and the
Committee, has been invaluable.» Chair Charbonneau concluded, «I would like to
apologize to the parents and students for any uncertainty or inconvenience that this
situation may have caused. Our continuing commitment to you is to provide the best
possible services for you and the rest of our community, and with this agreement
there will be no interruption in our services.»

There had been concerns that if a deal was not reached the workers would hold a
strike on Friday and cause an interruption in school. With today’s agreement, school
will be held as scheduled.

«I want to thank everyone involved for leading and stepping up to resolve this
issue,» said Mayor Donald R. Grebien. «I am especially grateful to the School
Committee, Chair Charbonneau, and Superintendent DiCenso for their leadership on
this matter. The services Aramark and their employees provide our students are
critical to a healthy and productive school day. We are all happy that, through
collaboration and open communication, this situation was resolved and Pawtucket’s
students will be in school tomorrow as a result.»