The University of South Florida announced a 15-year partnership with Compass Group to take over food and facilities service management this week, ending a 22-year partnership with Aramark and changing the state employee status of around 400 employees.
The partnership is poised to save the university around $320 million and includes a signing bonus for USF to receive an unrestricted $47 million, plus $2.5 million in capital commitment toward its new football stadium.
A letter of intent also said Compass Group and affiliated groups will fund a “life of contract investment” of almost $88 million, including the signing bonus and a redacted amount for buying out the remainder of USF’s contract with Aramark.
The agreement also means 400 employees — largely groundskeepers and other employees in facilities and maintenance, positions that come with state health insurance or pension plans — currently hired by USF will no longer be state employees. It would also impact employees at Aramark, which has partnered with USF for dining services since 2002. All employees will “be given the opportunity to remain in their current roles with total compensation that is equal to or better than what they receive today,” a news release said.
A proposal crafted by Compass Group and the university said they anticipated 355 USF employees to transition to the company and that the employees would receive an “11 percent increase in wages to cover incremental costs of health care premiums and personal investment in their 401ks.” The company would also provide $1 million for up to two weeks of bonus pay for those who transition to a new role.
A university spokesperson said “each USF employee’s situation will be taken into consideration during one-on-one personal sessions” so that total compensation should be equal to or better than what they are receiving at USF. Compass Group has a benefits package, including a 401K retirement plan, available to transitioning USF employees.
The partnership includes three subsidiary groups. Chartwells will handle dining services beginning July 1. SSC Services for Education, which advertises “outsourcing in higher education” for facilities and maintenance, will take over facilities, including construction projects under $4 million. The transition will begin Dec. 1.
Levy will manage athletics facilities and concessions, including the new stadium project. Compass Group pledged a $2.5 million capital investment and $1 million signing bonus toward the stadium in the proposal. The proposal assumes they would see 330,000 in annual attendance across 42 events, and said the terms were subject to renegotiation for reasons including restrictions on the sale of alcohol, major impacts to attendance or that the location becomes unionized.
The University of South Florida’s American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union chapter, which would have previously represented the facilities and maintenance public employees, was decertified earlier this year after a new law passed in 2023 that required unions to have 60% of members paying dues.
A 209-page proposal was sent with a letter of intent to USF on Sept. 30, days after Hurricane Helene swept through USF’s campuses, and was signed Oct. 2 by university officials. The proposal included drafts of letters to impacted employees, advertising for town hall forums, and outlines of “good news opportunities,” which are “best practices to create excitement” for the partnerships as well as best practices for rolling out information to employees to “foster a culture of care and concern.”
It also included a draft of a press release containing a quote that was later slightly modified and attributed to USF president Rhea Law.
“We look forward to welcoming Compass Group to the USF community. They bring deep experience and a strong record of quality service in higher education, campus facilities management and athletics,” the quote from Law read. “We will work to ensure minimal disruption to operations and dedicated team members who will be offered opportunities to stay in their roles.”