UFCW Local 1000 announced on TCU Sodexo UFCW Workers’ Facebook page late last week a tentative collective bargaining agreement has been reached between TCU UFCW workers and Sodexo.

Max Krochmal, an assistant history professor at TCU, commented on the post, along with several other people who expressed excitement upon hearing the news.

“Congratulations everyone!” Krochmal wrote. “See you this fall!”

Citing the Affordable Care Act, Sodexo redefined full-time employment last fall.

TCU Sodexo workers responded by voting in favor of labor union representation in late March. The workers joined the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local union following the decision.

When the original change took effect Jan. 1, many full-time Sodexo workers at TCU were redefined as part-time workers, effectively losing benefits they previously had as full-time employees.

The announcement of a planned collective bargaining agreement came less than a week after Sodexo announced plans of restoring health coverage to its employees.

Sodexo Vice President for Benefits Julie Peterson told the Associated Press in late June the company will make changes for next year to restore eligibility to those affected.

“We think that overall this is going to result in about the same number of employees being eligible as in the past,” Peterson said. “We’ve realized we can change the way we are determining eligibility and still remain competitive in the market.”

Several Sodexo employees spoke previously with TCU 360 about their lives after the cuts came into effect.

Details of the contract are expected to be shared during contract ratification meetings at 11:00 a.m. and 5 p.m. on July 15, according to the Facebook post. Sodexo employees with questions can call Casey Williams at 817-421-1003.