After five months of negotiations with new employer Chartwells, the hardworking "lunch ladies" of Ridgefield, CT public schools finally have a deal!. The food service workers reached a three-year contract agreement with the food service company that allows them five paid sick days per year, as well as annual general wage increases. The contract also provides health coverage for workers who log 30 or more hours per week.

CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 members' efforts to secure a fair agreement with one of the giants in the for-profit food service trades captured the attention of industry-watchers, political activists, school lunch advocates and other workers in the field. Read more coverage of the contract ratification vote at The Ridgefield Press, the News-Times and Democratic Underground blog.

Next up on the agenda for Ridgefield's lunch ladies: educating their Board of Education on why students' meal choices shouldn't be allowed to be caught up in bidding wars between food service corporations. More at the CSEA Connections blog.