Staff affected by the change will learn details of the transition at a meeting March 6.
Texas A&M University-Commerce announced Feb. 27 its intent to outsource its building maintenance, landscaping services and custodial services effective April 1. The change will affect 125 employees.
The university has signed a letter of intent with SSC Service Solutions, a subsidiary of Compass Group North America. The move is part of similar changes at campuses throughout the Texas A&M University System.
Bob Brown, vice president for business and administration for A&M-Commerce, said Friday that affected staff would be offered the equivalent of their current jobs with SSC at their current rate of pay plus a 5 percent annual increase.
Regarding benefits, staff would be offered the opportunity to transition to SSC's benefits package. Brown described SSC's benefits as "roughly equivalent" to those offered by A&M-Commerce.
SSC staff will meet with affected employees on March 6 to describe details of the transition process, Brown said. The meeting is a private one, open only to the staff in question and other directly involved parties, Brown said.
A&M-Commerce currently spends about $5.5 million annually on maintenance, landscaping and custodial services, Brown said.
The letter of intent with SSC provides for the university to pay SSC 11 percent less than that $5.5 million to provide the same services, Brown said.
Brown described the current state of the transition as the "due diligence" period with the contract expected to become finalized within 90-180 days.
SSC Service Solutions currently provides support services to over 100 educational organizations nationwide, including Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, which uses the company for its custodial services. SSC Service Solutions manages facilities, custodial and building maintenance operations for Compass Group.
