It’s just deserts for school food workers.
Roughly 130 employees of Maramont Corp. in Brooklyn are getting better pay and benefits after a Daily News investigation showed the company violated fair-wage rules.
Maramont Corp. had underpaid workers for years and refused to provide health care coverage, prompting the city to pull an $82 million school food contract from the company in September.
But after the city yanked the deal, Maramont promised to provide higher wages and insurance, surrendering to the demands of Workers United, a union that intervened on the workers’ behalf.
A new pact has been negotiated, and the company will keep its factories open, providing food for more than 200 public schools in Brooklyn.
“This new contract will bring real improvements to the lives of these workers and their families,” said Workers United Vice President Wilfredo Larancuent.
Under the terms of the agreement, which begins Saturday, Maramont workers’ average wages will jump from around $10 an hour to about $11.30 an hour. The employees, who work in the food factories and deliver meals to school cafeterias, will also receive health benefits for themselves and their families, union officials said.
“It’s great news for me,” said Rashea Fryar, 36, of Brooklyn, who is paid $8.43 an hour. He will get health coverage and a 12% pay bump to $9.50 an hour under the new deal.
Mayor de Blasio’s spokesman Wiley Norvell said the city worked hard to help Maramont and its workers reach an agreement.
City Council Member Carlos Menchaca, who is chair of the Council’s immigration committee, called the new contract a major victory for immigrant rights.
Maramont has also reached a preliminary settlement agreement to pay millions in back wages to roughly 1,500 workers involved in a class-action suit against the company. The state Supreme Court ruled in June the company owed $88 million in back wages to workers employed at Maramont between 2003 and 2011.
Attorney James Murphy said the deal allows Maramont to stay in business while giving its employees a fairer shake. Murphy wouldn’t reveal the amount of the settlement, which still must be approved by the Supreme Court.
A spokesman for Maramont said the company was pleased to reach the settlement.
