Trinity College changing facility management contractor

HBJ FILE PHOTO Trinity College in Hartford.

Write a Comment

By Joe Cooper

The housekeeping, grounds services and maintenance operations at Hartford's Trinity College will change hands in July, which will result in most of the 93 affected staffers landing jobs with the new contractor, according to school officials.

Trinity College recently informed Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp., which provides facilities management and other services on campus, it will not renew the company's contract that expires June 30, the company said in a recent WARN notice filed with the Labor Department.

The notice is required by federal law for employers to provide advance notification of major closings and layoffs.

Employees impacted by the non-renewal will be able to apply for positions with the newly selected facility management provider, New York-based ABM Industries Inc., which begins a three-year contract with the school on July 1, officials said.

Aramark's expiring contract will affect numerous non-union and union represented custodial workers, groundskeeping and maintenance staff. There are no bumping rights for those employees.

"The vast majority of current Aramark workers are almost certain to land employment with the new contractor," a Trinity spokesperson said Monday. "We have done everything in our power to see that Aramark's hourly employees will not have a break in employment."

ABM Industries is required to employ a union workforce under its new contract, and has held meetings with outgoing Aramark staff as its first step in the transition, officials said.

According to a letter sent to the school community, Dan Hitchell, Trinity's vice president of finance and operations, said his office considered a campus-wide survey and reviewed its current services for a year before selecting a bid from ABM Industries.

Bids were reviewed by numerous faculty, staff, administrators, students, and a summit facilities committee, he said.

Founded in 1909, ABM Industries currently serves over 500 school systems, colleges and universities across the U.S., including New Haven's Yale University, Harvard University and Northeastern in Boston.

Clarification/Correction: A previous version of this story stated that 93 Aramark workers would be terminated as a result of the new facility management contract. While that is technically true, most are expected to land positions with the incoming facility management company, ABM Industries. The prior version also incorrectly stated that Aramark provided food services to Trinity. Another company, Chartwells, provides dining services.