Item 362/2026
Final
City of Garden Grove
INTER-DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM
To:
Lisa L. Kim From: Samuel Kim
Dept:
City Manager Dept: Public Works
Date: 9/8/2026
Subject: Approval of an Amendment to the agreement with Unifirst Corporation to provide uniform rental and laundering services. (Cost: $19,000)(Action Item)
OBJECTIVE
To receive City Council approval of an amendment to the uniform rental and laundering services agreement with Unifirst Corporation to address a rate increase.
BACKGROUND
The City contracts with Unifirst Corporation for weekly uniform rental and laundering services covering employee classifications across the Public Works Department. Under the Memorandum of Understanding with the applicable bargaining unit(s), the City is responsible for the cleaning, maintenance, and replacement of uniforms and related apparel for covered classifications. On November 12, 2024, the City Council awarded the existing contract to Unifirst Corporation, piggybacking on a competitively bid Sourcewell contract (Contract #011124-UFC) under which Unifirst Corporation was the lowest responsive bidder. The agreement covers employee uniforms and other related service items, including building mats, runners, and dust mops used for cleaning at City facilities.
The contract has a 40-month term – an initial seven-month term in the amount of $40,000, followed by annual renewal options – not to exceed $80,000 per year, and is scheduled to expire on March 25, 2028, consistent with the underlying Sourcewell contract term. The $80,000 annual not-to-exceed amount has been sufficient to cover routine weekly laundering service, inspections, and standard uniform repairs and replacements since the contract was awarded, but Unifirst Corporation has since advised the City that current pricing is no longer sustainable at the existing rate.
DISCUSSION
Unifirst Corporation applied a 20% annual rate increase on the existing agreement, citing rising costs for laundering, garment replacement, and labor. Applying this 20% increase to the current $80,000 annual not-to-exceed amount resulted in total expenditure amounts for last Fiscal Year increasing by approximately $12,000, for a total of $92,000. An amendment Item 362/2026
for 10% was issued to pay for $8,000 outstanding invoices, leaving a remaining $3,000 unpaid invoices. To avoid disruption in providing the required safety gear to employees, it is recommended to issue an amendment to increase Fiscal Year 2025-26 agreement by $3,000 and Fiscal Year 2026 -27 agreement by $16,000 to adequately fund Unifirst Corporations applied 20% increase. Based on the requested 20% rate increase, staff recommends increasing the annual not -to-exceed contract amount from $80,000 to $96,000 for the remainder term.
The rate increase is further compounded by growth in the Department's cove red workforce.
Approximately 22 new employees were added to the uniform program within the last year, each requiring an initial uniform issuance under the agreement. In addition, new employees performing electrical work are issued fire -resistant (FR) unifo rms as required for arc flash protection, which carry an additional per-employee charge under the Unifirst pricing schedule.
Together, these workforce-driven costs are layered on top of Unifirst Corporation's applied rate increase and further support the need for the requested contract amendment.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The requested increase to the UniFirst contract is $19,000. The additional cost will be absorbed within the existing Public Works Department operating budget. No addit ional appropriation is required.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council:
Approve Amendment No. 3 for the uniform rental and laundering services agreement with Unifirst Corporation, increasing the contract amount by $3,000 to cover Fiscal Year outstanding invoices for a total of not-to-exceed $91,000 for the contract term ending on June 30, 202 6, and increasing the contract amount by $16,000 per year to cover the remaind er two fiscal year annual terms for a total of not-to-exceed $96,000 annually; and
Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the amendment and any related documents necessary to implement this action.
By: Raquel Manson, Senior Administrative Analyst
ATTACHMENT(S)
1. Amendment Agreement No. 3