Summary_of_First_Week_4-17-10

Sodexo National Actions
April 12-16, 2010

What Sodexo Workers Are Fighting For
About seven months ago, workers employed by
Sodexo around the country--from California to
Massachusetts, from Louisiana to Illinois--started
joining together to form a union. Their goal was to
win a better life for themselves and their families.
In state after state, however, this simple exercise of
protected rights by Sodexo's workers has been met
with interrogation, threats, surveillance, and even
terminations of activists, as part of a deliberate
campaign by Sodexo to suppress its own workers'
efforts to seek humane and just working conditions.
This activity is widespread - it spans eight states
and is the basis of 16 unfair labor practice charges
pending before the National Labor Relations Board.
When Sodexo began cracking down on workers' efforts to form a union, the company's food service workers and
janitors were fighting for fair wages, access to affordable health care, and dignity and respect on the job. Now workers
are protesting this disrespect of their rights.
Sodexo is the 22nd largest employer in the world, and, despite making more than a billion dollars in operating profit in
2009, Sodexo pays its workers in the United States as little as $7.50 an hour. Even if a worker is lucky enough to get
full-time hours year-round (which is hardly the case for many of the company's workers), that still comes to just
$15,600 per year--well below the poverty line for a family of four of $22,050.
Access to affordable healthcare is also a problem for Sodexo workers. In fact, two-thirds of Sodexo's non-managerial
employees in the United States are not covered by health insurance offered by the company. "We don't make enough
money to pay for the health insurance they offer to us. The plan is over $300 a month," said Dorsi Forte, a Sodexo
worker at Westfield State University at Massachusetts. "We barely make ends meet now. Why are they offering us
insurance that we can't afford to get? It doesn't make any sense to me."
Sandy Dailey, a food service worker at Ohio State University, cannot afford to pay for medical care out-of-pocket on the
$9 an hour she makes. Despite having a serious heart condition, her lack of affordable health insurance means she
hasn't seen a doctor in 3 years. Sandy has already had two heart attacks at work--both of which came after she had to
lift heavy boxes of syrup for sodas--and without access to health care she is constantly at risk of having another one.
She is supposed to take medicine for her high blood pressure but can't afford it. "So I lift the boxes," she says, tears
streaming down her face. "I know I shouldn't, but what choice do I have? If I don't do it, I don't get scheduled."
Apart from wages and benefits, many Sodexo workers report that dignity on the job is a major issue. "In the kitchen,
the 'Respect and Fair Treatment' poster is just a decoration, because the only ones that get any respect here are
managers," said Rodd Sweet, a prep cook at the University of Denver.
With service sector jobs--such as those provided by Sodexo--predicted to account for 96 percent of all job growth
between now and 2018, our country cannot afford to let them remain dead-end jobs.
What's worse, when Sodexo workers stand up to improve their jobs and transform the service sector, they're met with a
pattern of illegal activity to suppress their efforts - even when this activity violates federal law. Over the course of the

next two weeks Sodexo cafeteria workers and janitors--joined by students, religious leaders, and elected officials in 10
states--will protest these attacks on their efforts to form a union by participating in rallies and leading strikes in some
locations, and some individuals may participate in civil disobedience. Events are planned in Massachusetts, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Colorado, Louisiana, Georgia, and California.
We'll be covering all of the action on CleanUpSodexo.org, regularly and often, over the course of the next two weeks.
Sodexo "Spring Cleaning" Begins at
CUBE Conference in Chicago
Last Friday, a delegation of activists and workers were at the
Council of Urban Boards of Education (or CUBE, part of the
National School Boards Association) conference in Chicago
to deliver a report entitled "Profits First, School Kids Last:
Exposing the High Cost of Sodexo."
Today, schools throughout the country are in a
financial crisis that is unprecedented in recent
history.School boards are being forced to make cuts and look
to outsourcing companies like Sodexo - a company that
provides food service to more than 2.3 million children
nationwide - for easy answers.
But from the perspective of local communities, Sodexo's
savings often prove to be a mirage. Sodexo's business
model - low-wage jobs that depress the tax base and in some
cases force workers to rely on different forms of public assistance and charity to meet basic housing, nutritional and
healthcare needs - puts additional pressure on local budgets and may actually end up costing communities money.
The CUBE event was a great opportunity to talk to decision makers
about what it really means to contract with Sodexo. The energy was
fantastic, and the noise level was high as protesters showed up with
banners and began distributing leaflets to participants.
You could sense that the message was heard loud and clear as participants
began sharing their leaflets with others and talking about what the
protesters were doing. The delegation's message was certainly heard by
officials who were considering Sodexo as a potential company to do
business with.
By the end of the conference, between word of mouth and our follow up
activities, everyone understood why the delegation was there and
what it means to contract with Sodexo.
You can read more about Sodexo's weak K-12 record - including issues
about understaffing, safety and security, student confidentiality, finances
and deficits, lack of follow-through and kickback issues
here: http://cleanupsodexo.org/education/

N.J. school districts overpaid food service
management firms by more than $320K, study says
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/ten_nj_school_districts_overpa.html
By Bob Considine/The Star-Ledger
April 06, 2010, 7:56PM
Stephen Briggs/For The Star-LedgerStudent
Pat Duane uses the Cougar Deli at Chatham
High School in this September 2009 file
photo. The School District of the Chathams
is the newest New Jersey district to hire
Chartwells food service. A report says that
school districts are overpaying food service
management firms, suggesting that the
charges Sodexo and Chartwells levy on
schools for workers compensation and
liability insurance exceed the actual cost of
obtaining insurance.
Ten New Jersey school districts overpaid
more than $320,000 in payroll costs to
private food service management
companies, according to a study commissioned by a service workers union and released today.
SEIU Local 32BJ, with 8,300 New Jersey members, hired Clarion Group Ltd. to analyze contracts and financial data
provided by 10 school districts that outsource their food services to two private corporations, Maryland-based Sodexo
Inc. and North-Carolina-based Chartwells, a subsidiary of Compass Group. The study was conducted mostly during the
2008-09 school year.
The report indicates the charges Sodexo and Chartwells levied on schools for workers compensation and liability
insurance exceeded the actual cost of obtaining the insurance. It claimed that in three school districts — Bergenfield,
East Windsor and Marlboro — Chartwells overcharged $51,979 for workers compensation insurance.
They found the companies used similar tactics in other markets to inflate costs, according to Tom MacDermott, who
researched and wrote the report for the Clarion Group from last November to March. “They were charging more for
certain overhead items than they actually incurred.”
A spokesperson for Compass Group said company officials are still reviewing the report, but said “it appears to be
based on assumptions and incomplete data that we cannot validate until further review.”
“Chartwells’ business conduct is guided by the highest standards of integrity and responsibility and we adhere to
federal, state and local regulations when we bid on school district contracts,” said Cheryl Queen, vice president of
corporate communications with Compass Group North America.
Edison school board secretary and school business administrator Daniel Michaud said he has trusted Chartwell’s
business practices and is pleased with the deal his district has with the company. Still, Michaud was surprised to learn
of the report and said he would follow up with Chartwell for an explanation.
“If there’s anything to check, believe me, we’ll address it with them,” he said. “And if there’s any overcharging, I’ll be
going after them for it.”
Clarion’s report — “Hard to Swallow: Do Private Food Service Contractors Shortchange New Jersey Schools?” —
covered 2.6 percent of the 378 school districts in the state that used private food contractors. The districts surveyed
were Bergenfield, East Windsor, Edison, Hamilton, Marlboro, Long Branch, Piscataway, Southern Regional, West
Orange, and West Windsor-Plainsboro.

According to MacDermott, some of the districts surveyed could have secured better deals with the food management
companies if they allowed time in the process to obtain competitive bids, according to MacDermott.
In one instance, MacDermott said, the West Orange school district issued an undated 45-page bid guideline for the
2009-10 school year that required bidders to attend a tour of the district’s food services facilities on June 25 and
submit proposals three business days later for a contract that began on July 1.
“The state recommends a 45-day period,” MacDermott said. “That’s probably a little excessive, but three days to put
together a $3 million piece of business is a little tough.”
SEIU LOCAL 32BJ; Report Finds Private Food
Companies Including Sodexo and Chartwells May
Be Overcharging New Jersey School Districts $12
Million
Food Weekly News
April 22, 2010
A new report finds private food service companies operating thousands of New Jersey public school cafeterias may be
overcharging the state's school districts by $12 million.
The Clarion Group's report entitled "Hard to Swallow: Do Private Food Service Companies Shortchange New Jersey's
Schools?" analyzes contracts and financial data in ten school districts that use Sodexo and Chartwells to manage their
cafeterias.
"In a time of tightened budgets, New Jersey's schools need every tax dollar owed to them," said Marcelo Narvaez,
father of a teenage son and member of 32BJ SEIU. "This money should be going to my son's education and providing
nutritious food, not into the pockets of multi-billion dollar companies."
Keywords: Finance, Financial, Food, Food Service, Investing, Investment, SEIU Local 32BJ. This article was prepared
by Food Weekly News editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2010, Food Weekly News via VerticalNews.com.
Town Hall Meeting in PA Focuses on
Violations of Worker Rights at Sodexo
Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Brennan, Easton City Council
Member Mike Fleck, Lehigh Valley Students for
Workers joined Sodexo food service employees at a
town hall meeting on Thursday to address poor
working conditions and violations of
workers' rights in the area. The town hall took
place at the United Steelworkers Hall in Bethlehem
PA.
Sodexo workers in the area have filed charges with
the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the company has unlawfully interrogated and threatened
workers for trying to form a union.

Workers like Genevieve Repsher and Shamar Grant talked about the harassment and intimidation they've faced as they
stand up for better wages and affordable health care coverage.
The event was covered by local television station WFMZ-TV, who reported on the event
here:http://www.wfmz.com/news/23096668/detail.html
http://www.wfmz.com/news/23096668/detail.html
Workers Dish Out Complaints About Company
Joscelyn Moes | Reporter
Posted: 10:10 pm EDT April 8,2010
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Local food service workers dished out
some complaints Thursday night about what they're calling
violations of workers' rights.
They said the time has come to clean up food service
contractor, Sodexo.
Some local Sodexo workers held a town hall meeting tonight to
address what they're calling poor working conditions.
But company officials said not so fast.
Elected officials and college students joined local Sodexo food
service employees to support their fight for change within the company. The local workers want to organize to form a
union. Their biggest complaints are the high cost of health care and low wages.
“It's just hard for me to try to go to school at the same time,” said Shamar Grant. “I don't really have enough money to
cover all my expenses.”
"I'm only at about 9 dollars after 6 1/2 years." said Genevieve Repsher
Sodexo officials say their employees are critical to the company's success.
“Sodexo provides competitive pay and benefits appropriate to employee responsibilities to our 120,000 employees in
the United States,” says Alfred King, spokesman for Sodexo.
Local workers are standing alongside Service Employees International Union local 32BJ. Workers say when they've
approached their higher ups about forming a union they've been met with harassment.
“In many cases they've been met with threats, intimidation either directly or indirectly.” said Bianca Agustin.
The company says it respects the rights of its employees to unionize or not unionize as they so choose.
“Allegations that we interfere with employees rights to unionize are false,” said King.
Meantime workers say they're going to continue their fight.
Workers are planning to march to Sodexo offices in Allentown later this month.

Global Delegation Arrives, Meeting with
Sodexo Workers This Week
A delegation of Sodexo workers from
France and the United Kingdom landed
last night in Washington, DC, in
preparation for three days of activity in
support of the campaign by Sodexo
workers in the U.S. to protest Sodexo's
attempts to suppress workers--through
threats, intimidation, among other
things--in their efforts to form a union.
Silvie Emmanuela Beccari, the
national chief steward for Sodexo
France for the union CFDT;Emilie
Wirtz and Pascal Ronet, both
regional chief stewards for the
Northeast region of
France/CFDT; Jean-Michel Dupire,
executive board member for the French union CGT; andGerard Bodard, regional chief steward for the CGT, have
joined Robert Oram, national executive council for Unison, the 1.3-million member union in the United Kingdom;
and John Fox and Elaine Carswell, both project organizers for the Unison "Three Companies" project, which
includes Sodexo workers (some of whom staged a successful strike of their own earlier this year). The delegation is
looking forward to the next few days, during which they will visit with Sodexo workers in Virginia and Ohio and
participate in actions with both workers and students.
This trip is an unprecedented delegation of global union partners visiting the U.S. in the midst of a campaign. The
delegations spent Tuesday evening meeting Sodexo workers from George Mason University, and discussed differences
and similarities amongst their unions and the conditions of Sodexo workers in their home countries.
The global guests heard firsthand the stories from Sodexo workers, who attended a welcome dinner for the delegation.
"These workers' dignity is affected," said Jean-Michel Dupire of the CGT. "It touches my heart to hear how they are
working hard to get a union."
"There is a lot of work that needs to be done," agreed Emlie Wirtz, also of the CFDT.
"A Sodexo worker--whether they live in France or in America--should all have the same rights, the same advantages,"
said Silvie Beccari of the CFDT. "In France, workers have the right to give their opinions. It should be the same in the
U.S."
"In France, every worker has the right to join a union; the law protects them," explained Pascal Ronet. "In the U.K.,
everyone has the individual right to join a union, as well," added Bob Oram.

"We need a lot of support, and we are blessed because people are hearing our voices," said Sandra Villanueva, a Sodexo
worker at GMU for 11 years. "It's good to learn about workers in other countries, and we need a lot of support. It makes
me feel good to know that we are not alone."
John Fox of Unison agreed. "It's not just us who are here with you," he said of the delegation from the U.K. "The people
back in England who can't be here are thinking of all of these workers too. We are all with them. We are passionate
about this campaign and are happy we can all come together."
The delegation travels to Ohio on Thursday and back to the DC area on Friday.
In New Orleans, Workers Testify Before
City Council About Sodexo's Illegal
Practices and Failure to Help With the
City's Recovery
Joined by a broad coalition of community
and student supporters, Sodexo workers in
New Orleans testified today before the City
Council to protest the disturbing pattern of
illegal behavior at sites where Sodexo
workers are fighting for the right to come
together to raise standards in a city hungry
for good jobs.
"After five years I received two raises--one
for 24 cents, the other for 12 cents--and now
I make $8.12 an hour which makes it hard
even to pay my bills," said Anthony Thomas,
a Sodexo worker at Tulane University. "Just
because my coworkers and I are trying to
create better jobs for everyone, Sodexo has
threatened and illegally questioned my
coworkers and that isn't right. I hope Sodexo plays a part in creating good jobs too."
Sodexo is one of the largest employers in the New Orleans region, and as
the area leader in food service management sets employment standards for
thousands of workers in the market. Both in New Orleans and around the
world, Sodexo portrays itself as a responsible employer, pledging, for
example, to help recovery efforts as the floodwaters receded in 2005. But
almost five years later, workers testified today, Sodexo has failed to live up
to its promises.
"Before the storm, I worked for Sodexo at the school district. In the
aftermath, all Sodexo did was offer to give us a payout based on our
vacation time," says Zella Dase, a food service worker at Loyola University.
"I didn't have any vacation--and none of my coworkers that I know did
either. I can't believe that they didn't offer to help us at all."
23.8%: Percentage of individuals in
New Orleans below the poverty line
13.2%: Percentage of individuals
nationally below the poverty line
$22,050: Federal poverty line for a
family of four
$16,640: Annual earnings of a
Sodexo worker in New Orleans

Although workers at Sodexo's unionized Recovery School District account generally fare better than their nonunion
counterparts, some of them also earn wages low enough to qualify them for public assistance. These workers are
preparing to fight for a better contract with Sodexo in the coming months.
"I've worked for Sodexo for nearly 3 years, but I've been on food stamps for over a year now," said Zarassa Harris, a
Sodexo custodian in the Recovery School District. "For lunch, my kids eat free. I think it's sad that I work for a huge,
profitable food service company, yet my kids have to rely on the federal government to get lunch at school."
These sorts of low-wage jobs exacerbate the problems in a city that is in desperate need of good jobs and lasting
economic development. Nearly one in four New Orleanians lives below the poverty line--almost double the poverty rate
for the country as a whole.
At today's hearing, workers released a report on Sodexo's track record in New Orleans, Hardship in the Big Easy: How
Sodexo's practices leave New Orleans workers in poverty. The report reveals that Sodexo Facilities management
erased overtime from weekly time reports from time clocks every Wednesday or Thursday, stealing a total of $22,000
from workers over the course of last year. Sodexo eventually had to pay back the money after workers put pressure on
the company.
Labor concerns presented to City Council
Economic Development Committee
Bruce Eggler
The Times-Picayune
April 13, 2010
Workers and union organizers protesting what they call substandard wages and unfair labor practices at local public
schools and universities by the international food-service giant Sodexo drew sympathetic comments but no promises
of help Tuesday from New Orleans City Council members.
A parade of current and former Sodexo food-service and custodial workers at Tulane and Loyola
universities and Recovery School District schools presented their grievances to the council's Economic
Development Committee.
Several workers said that even after years on the job, their wages are so low they must rely on food stamps and free or
reduced-price school lunches to feed their families and are unable to afford adequate health insurance.
Others said Sodexo does not offer opportunities for promotion and advancement and has fired at least one worker who
supported the Service Employees International Union's efforts to unionize workers at Tulane and Loyola.
Helene O'Brien, president of SEIU Local 21LA, said Sodexo managers systematically erased overtime hours worked by
150 employees last year, denying them a total of $22,000 they had earned. After the workers put pressure on the
company, she said, the money eventually was paid but the managers involved remain in their positions.
Arnie Fielkow is chairman of the New Orleans City Council Economic Development Committee.
Council President Arnie Fielkow, chairman of the committee, said he had invited Sodexo to send a representative to the
meeting, but no one appeared to speak for the company.
In the past, Sodexo officials have denied some of the allegations.

In a letter this month to the Tulane student newspaper, the Hullabaloo, the area general manager for
Sodexo Campus Services, Ben Hartley, said, "We follow the National Labor Relations Board standards that call for
open dialogue" before a vote on whether to join a union.
He told the Loyola Maroon in February that the company offers "benefits that would have been unheard of
several years ago" and "does a good job at trying to support staff as much as they can."
The company has said its starting wage of $8 an hour is higher than the legally required minimum wage and the
average starting wage in Louisiana.
Fielkow said low wages can contribute to crime by forcing parents to work more than one job and by limiting
opportunities for young people. But he said the council has no jurisdiction over labor practices at private schools.
Councilwoman Stacy Head said it might be possible to write a city law saying that companies' treatment of workers
should be taken into consideration when awarding contracts to take over privatized public functions. But she noted
that, like the council's recently passed ordinance denying city contracts to people convicted of certain felonies, any such
law must not violate the state's public bid law.
After the committee meeting, the
workers and union leaders trooped
outside to a rally on City Hall's steps
where state Rep. Austin Badon, D-
New Orleans, and recent mayoral
candidate James Perry voiced
support for the workers' cause. Perry,
executive director of the Greater New
Orleans Fair Housing Action Center,
is currently running for the 93rd
District House seat.
Badon said, "It pains me that this
company can feel good about their
billions of dollars in profits knowing
that their workers are suffering."
Perry urged Sodexo to pay its workers "livable" wages. "We have to put people first," he said.
Sodexo, founded in France in 1966 and formerly known as Sodexho, is one of the largest food-service and facilities
management companies in the world, with 380,000 employees at 30,600 sites in 80 countries. For the fiscal year
ending in August 2009, it had worldwide revenue of more than $19 billion.
O'Brien said Sodexo has long-term contracts with Tulane and Loyola. It recently lost its food-service contract with the
Recovery School District but still provides food service at some charter schools, she said, and also has a maintenance
and custodial contract with the RSD.
The well-known author Barbara Ehrenreich, before a speaking appearance at Tulane in March, met with Sodexo
workers and expressed support for their unionization efforts.

N.O. City Council hears wage theft accusations
against Sodexo
Ben Myers
New Orleans Business Journal
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/blog/2010/04/13/no-city-council-hears-wage-theft-
accusations-against-sodexo/
Wage theft, racial discrimination, poverty-level wages and inadequate health care were among a flurry of
allegations aimed at France-based Sodexo at a New Orleans City Council committee meeting today.
The accusations against Sodexo, which manages cafeterias and other facilities in public schools and private
universities in New Orleans, came from employees and the Service Employees International Union.
Algiers resident Lisa Cooper told council members that, while serving as a temporary manager at Benjamin
Bratt Elementary School, she saw other managers erase hours from time cards.
“I witnessed some awful things,” Cooper said.
The SEIU today released a report that claims Sodexo systematically stole $22,000 from New Orleans-area
workers by erasing overtime hours from weekly time reports in 2009. The erasures occurred every
Wednesday and Thursday, and one employee lost $1,245, according to the report.
Councilman Arnie Fielkow said he invited Sodexo representatives to attend the meeting, but none were
present.
In a written statement, Sodexo spokesman Alfred King said the company “found an error in its
computerized time-clock system” and the problems occurred between 2007 and 2008. SEIU and Sodexo
agree the money was returned, but the union says reparations occurred only after employees pressured
Sodexo management.
Terry Shelly testified that her unionizing attempts resulted in her being fired from a job as a cashier in a
Loyola University New Orleans cafeteria.
SEIU represents some New Orleans-area workers, but employees working at Tulane and Loyola universities
have been unable to unionize and face threats of surveillance, among other intimidation efforts, according to
SEIU.
“Those allegations are false,” King said, noting that Sodexo is more than 15 percent unionized. “Sodexo
respects our employees’ rights to unionize or not unionize as they choose.”
Tulane senior Brian Ford testified in favor of Sodexo employees and said students are organizing a rally this
week.

“We have seen intimidation on our campus,” Ford told council members.
Council members acknowledged that city government cannot control what occurs on private campuses. But
Councilwoman Stacy Head said the city’s penchant for outsourcing has resulted in public service workers
receiving lower wages.
Head and Fielkow agreed to explore their flexibility under public bid laws to consider treatment of
employees when awarding contracts.•
SEIU escalates union efforts
Workers and students present demands to regional management
http://thehullabaloo.com/2010/04/09/seiu-escalates-union-efforts/
By Max Coll | Section: Apr 9th, 2010
Sodexo employees, Tulane and Loyola students, and representatives of the Service Employees International Union
marched into Sodexo’s regional office yesterday to deliver a letter condemning the company’s reactions to the workers’
unionization movement.
The letter, which they left on the desk of District Manager John Monica, demanded that Sodexo cease unlawful
campaigns to intimidate workers and charged the company with 13 violations of the National Labor Relations Act,
three of which are specific to Tulane and Loyola Universities.
“At Tulane University workers tell of Sodexo management interrogating them about their union activities and
threatening workers who continue their support for SEIU,” according to the letter. “At Loyola University workers
complain of a Sodexo work rule restricting employees from talking about the union at work and that Sodexo discharged
union supporter Terry Shelley in retaliation for her support for the union.”
Corey Taylor, an SEIU representative who was present at the protest, said the campaign is aiming to ensure workers’
protective rights.
“These workers are coming together to try to better conditions,” Taylor said. “As they have engaged in these efforts,
Sodexo has responded with terminations and harassment.”
Representatives of Sodexo’s regional office told the protesting group that Monica was unavailable to comment but that
they would place the letter under his door. The company also responded to SEIU’s allegations in a letter to the editor in
The Hullabaloo this issue, featured on page 10.
“Sodexo believes that the decision to unionize or not is an important one for our employees,” according to a letter by
Ben Hartley, Sodexo Campus Services area general manager. “We follow the National Labor Relations Board standards
that call for open dialogue to ensure employees are fully informed before they make such a decision. Any claims to the
contrary are false.”
Tulane President Scott Cowen responded to various student organizations Tuesday, acknowledging the community’s
interest in the unionization movement and emphasizing the school’s existing employee policies.
“The treatment of Tulane University employees is already comprehensively covered in the faculty and staff handbooks
and university employment policies,” according to Cowen’s statement. “I mention this fact so that the issues you may
have with Sodexo are not conflated with the existing Tulane policies regarding its treatment of university employees.”
The university also released a statement affirming its recognition of the workers’ right to unionize.

“Tulane supports the efforts of workers on our campus, if they so desire, to have union representation, which is
guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act,” according to the public statement. “We expect our vendors, like
Sodexo, to accord their employees the respect and dignity that all people deserve.”
In an effort to increase awareness of the unionization movement, the Tulane University Solidarity Committee has
organized a workers’ appreciation barbecue today to show support for Sodexo workers. Michael Hogg, interim vice
president of student affairs, said the location of the event was moved due to security concerns and required the
presence of Tulane police officers due to the potentially violent nature of the gathering.
“Here you have groups of people with differing views who are quite passionate,” Hogg said. “We want it to be civil and
not a threat to anyone on the spectrum. [TUSC] told us that they can not guarantee anyone’s safety, so we are requiring
the presence of security.”
Brian Ford, a member of TUSC, said that while Cowen and the administration claim to seek a civil and balanced
discussion, their actions have suggested otherwise.
“Actions like moving this barbecue at the last second suggest that the administration is attempting to intimidate the
conversation, basing it on fears they possess rather than a dialogue based on the facts,” Ford said. “The concept of
unionization has them frightened and our rapid growth of support has them on their heels despite the fact that our
actions have been peaceful and orderly.”
An SEIU flyer that protesters scattered across Sodexo’s regional office depicted a wanted sign with pictures of Tulane
and Loyola managers dressed in cowboy attire. Hogg said the use of these flyers was in poor taste and hinted
at violence.
“Taking other employees and belittling them, no matter what side you’re on, is in poor taste,” Hogg said. “A wanted
poster means you are looking for someone.”
SEIU representative Tara Young said the Sodexo workers’ conditions and the company’s unlawful reaction to the
unionization movement clearly violates Tulane University’s mission statement and stance in the community.
“After Hurricane Katrina the university placed a major emphasis on community service around the New Orleans area,”
Young said. “But what about their workers? Community service is about caring for your neighbors.”
Ford countered Sodexo’s claim that their $8 hourly pay is 52 cents higher than the starting hourly rate in Louisiana,
noting the high living costs of New Orleans.
“Sixty cents above minimum wage is not a livable situation, and at an esteemed institution like Tulane we need to do
better,” Ford said.

Campus rally supports unionization
More than 50 percent of workers agree to unionize, enabling
them to officially present plans to Sodexo
http://thehullabaloo.com/2010/03/26/camp
us-rally-supports-unionization/
By Leah Askarinam | Section: Mar 26th, 2010
Tulane’s dining services employees presented
Sodexo with a request to form a union
without intimidation from
management Wednesday.
Tulanians marched from Gibson to Lavin-
Bernick Center in a show of solidarity for the
Sodexo unionization effort.
A crowd of students marched with workers to
Dining Services General Manager Phoebe
Cook’s office to present a document with their
demands. Anthony Thomas, who has worked
with Sodexo for approximately five-and-a-half years, presented the document with a plea for better working
conditions. Cook, however, said that though she respected workers’ rights, she did not have the authority to accept the
papers, so the workers left the packet on the floor of her office.
The workers joined the group of students as they left, marching through the Lavin-Bernick Center chanting “shame
on Sodexo.”
“Basically, that is a really blatant slap in the face because it’s a statement from her that Sodexo doesn’t respect workers’
right to organize,” said Brian Ford, member of the Tulane University Solidarity Committee.
Tulane Public Relations Director Michael Strecker said that Tulane supports workers’ efforts to unionize, a right
guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act.
“We expect our vendors, like Sodexo, to accord their employees the respect and dignity that all people deserve,”
Strecker said. “We recognize that there are Tulane faculty, staff and students who are supportive of various positions in
the ongoing discussions. Their interest and involvement are indicative of the culture of community engagement that
Tulane highly values.
We expect a rational, reasonable and respectful exchange of viewpoints between all parties that is rooted in facts,
openness and civility.”
Before presenting Sodexo with the documents, two members of TUSC and two professors went to President Scott
Cowen’s office proposing that he adopt a Labor Code of Conduct. TUSC said it expects Cowen to address its request by
April 8.
“Tulane University recognizes that, while according to U.S. law workers have the freedom to choose for themselves
whether to have a union, the reality is that workers across the nation are routinely denied that right,” the proposed
code states. “By implementing this code, Tulane University recognizes the freedom to form or join a union as a
fundamental human right.”
They also presented two petitions: one with 1,092 student signatures and the other with 110 faculty signatures.

“Faculty are part of the Tulane community,” said Justin Wolfe, associate professor of history and the Suzanne and
Stephen Weiss presidential fellow. “We need to be involved in the life of the university. That means being involved in
the life of students and that means being in the life of staff, and vice versa. So at a fundamental level, if the university
really thinks of itself as a community, that means bringing everyone together and thinking about the common good of
the university and the common good of everyone who’s a part of it.”
TUSC organized a rally Wednesday supporting the workers’ right to unionize. Kevin Henry, president of Tulane’s
African American Congress, delivered a speech to students, who were brandishing signs reading “we expect more for
our workers,” “integrity,” and “stop in the name of Bruff [Commons].”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLEpG8USBhY
“The Sodexo workers have been dissuaded from organizing,” Henry said. “They are in horrible conditions. The
university has used their bodies and their time and their energy. There has been a cavalier disregard for them as
people. We have to remember what this education is all about. We have to remember what our duty is as students, as
citizens and as humans.”
Barbara Ehrenreich, Newcomb College’s 2010 Spring Powerhouse lecturer, spoke with Sodexo employees, students and
professors Tuesday to discuss unionization efforts.
“This place is supposed to be teaching mathematics, and you don’t have someone to figure out that $8.50 an hour is
not enough to live on in New Orleans?” Ehrenreich said.
Joynell Henderson, a Sodexo employee at Dillard University, attended the talk. Dillard University’s Sodexo employees
unionized last year.
“I’m glad to be here to help others organize and get the same benefits and everything — to get the same things we got
out of our union at Tulane University,” Henderson said.
Dear President Cowen:
By Tulane Hullabaloo | Section: Mar 26th, 2010
http://thehullabaloo.com/2010/03/26/dear-president-cowen/
Dear President Cowen:
We write to you to address an urgent matter for the Tulane University community. The workers who prepare and serve
the food at Bruff Commons, the Lavin-Bernick Center and all other food service locations have been subjected to
working conditions that are unacceptable and treatment that is degrading. The food service employees on campus have
shown courage and integrity in organizing for change, but have faced resistance and intimidation from Sodexo,
Tulane’s contracted food supplier. Sodexo’s behavior belittles Tulane’s core values — humanity, openness, integrity,
courage and excellence — treating these as business-speak buzzwords, rather than the beliefs and philosophy of the
Tulane community of students, faculty and staff.
The recent unethical meetings held by Sodexo’s upper management to dissuade their employees from organizing (as
reported in March 12’s Hullabaloo) exemplify the challenges that workers organizing will and have been facing. In
these difficult times, Sodexo’s policy of laying off most employees over the summer leaves workers in a vulnerable
position — one that most faculty, staff and students at Tulane will not experience. Sodexo’s unwillingness to guarantee
workers a right of first recall in the fall treats them as disposable objects and serves to intimidate a valuable part of our
community. We ask that Sodexo give each employee a letter that guarantees his or her first right of recall in the fall. As
the president of our university and the leader of our community, we expect you to ensure that Sodexo complies.
As the largest employer in New Orleans and a university that prides itself on its leadership in the community, we
believe it is only logical that you implement a labor code of conduct. Tulane’s employees, whether employed directly or
through contractors and subcontractors, must be allowed the unimpeded exercise of their legal rights. This means the
right to unionize by any legal method, including majority sign up, free from intimidation, so they can improve their
working conditions. But words are not enough. Tulane must show its commitment through action. Therefore, it is

imperative that Tulane implement a labor code of conduct that will bind Tulane and its contractors to these fair and
legal provisions. Xavier and Dillard have already demonstrated their support for workers’ rights and this is an
opportunity for Tulane to take the initiative among major American universities in ensuring fair labor practices
on campuses.
Tulane must hold to its core values, and we expect you to take the lead. A petition supporting our proposal has been
signed by 1,069 students. The implementation of a labor code of conduct, the right of workers to organize and the first
right of recall for Sodexo employees is most urgent. As a sign of good faith, we expect a response from you no later than
April 8 regarding Tulane’s implementation of these policies.
Since the levees broke in 2005, you have been asking us as students and as a community if we wanted to make a
difference. Today we ask you the same question. We must remember that the bottom line is not the source of our
humanity, our integrity or our excellence. As a wise man once said, “the measure of your life will ultimately be
determined by what difference you make for others, not just what you do for yourself.” Let it be known that we are
prepared to make that difference at Tulane.
Sincerely,
African-American Congress
Men of Color
Amnesty International
Tulane University Solidarity Committee
Workers and Students Rally at Emory
University
Editor's Note: Today's event at Emory University coincides with actions Sodexo workers and allies are undertaking
in 11 states to protest Sodexo's campaign of intimidation against workers seeking to improve their conditions - which
is now the basis of 16 unfair labor practice charges pending before the National Labor Relations Board.
Today, students and Sodexo food service workers
from Emory University, Morehouse College,
Georgia Tech, and Georgia State University - and
accompanied by elected officials and community
leaders - rallied for workers' right to respect on the
job and against Sodexo's efforts to interfere with
workers' rights to form a union.
Sodexo food service workers at colleges in the
Atlanta area have faced interference by Sodexo
management with their right to form a union.
Sodexo employs more than 700 workers in the
Atlanta area.
This morning on Emory's campus, workers,
students, and allies rallied in front of the
university's dining hall. Workers spoke about the
disrespectful way they are treated on the job. Students from Emory, and nearby colleges like Morehouse and Georgia
Tech, talked about the importance of making their universities to which they pay tuition, uphold university codes of
conduct and treat workers fairly and with dignity, respecting workers' rights to organize.

After the spirited rally, workers and students delivered a memo to Sodexo managers on campus - managers who just
happened to be taking their brunch nearby. Surrounding the managers, the group asked for a meeting to discuss the
issues. Afterward, the group entered the dining hall, passing out leaflets to Sodexo workers on the job and to the rest of
the campus community.
Emory Student: "Today Made Me Think About What
it's Like to be an Employee of Sodexo"
By Laura, Emory Student - 6:47 PM - April 13, 2010
Editor's Note: Today workers and students held a rally at Emory University calling for respect on the job and an end
to interference with Sodexo workers' rights to form a union. This event coincides with actions Sodexo workers and
allies are undertaking in 11 states to protest Sodexo's campaign of intimidation against workers seeking to improve
their conditions--which is now the basis of 16 unfair labor practice charges pending before the National Labor
Relations Board.
Today on the campus of Emory University, students and workers from across Atlanta gathered to publicly protest the
lack of dignity and respect that Sodexo workers receive from their employer and the university.
We directly (including myself) spoke to Sodexo manager Joe Mitchell and the dean of campus life, John Ford. Both of
them refused to speak with us and, in the case of the latter, looked for an excuse to get away.
Group Calls on Administration for Labor Changes
By Tiffany Han Posted: 04/12/2010
http://www.emorywheel.com/detail.php?n=28351
Photo Courtesy of Sophia Teona
Students and Workers in Solidarity held a demonstration last
Friday because the administration had not met demands by
noon that day, a deadline the administration had promised.
Students and Workers in Solidarity (SWS) rallied on Friday
after the administration dismissed their demands for the
University to implement a new code of conduct and a
president’s commission on the status of labor.
The group, composed largely of Emory students and workers
dedicated to voicing Sodexo employee concerns, first communicated these demands to University President James W.
Wagner in a March 15 meeting, notifying the administration that a demonstration would follow if demands were not
met by April 9 at noon.
Alleging that Sodexo management failed to uphold fair and ethical working conditions, students cited the need for
Emory to play a monitoring role.
Navyug Gill, a third-year graduate student in the history department, said the primary problem concerned the “two
tiers of standards” for workers on campus: one for Emory employees and a “subordinate” standard for those hired by
subcontractors.
To reconcile this difference, Gill said, the group drafted a new code of conduct to establish a uniform labor standard
based on both the University’s existing Statement of Ethical Principles and on Sodexo’s code of ethics.
13570

Gill said SWS then called on the administration to adopt the new code with a president’s commission on the status of
labor — which would include administrators, students, faculty and workers — to monitor application of the code.
In an April 2 op-ed submitted to the Wheel, the President’s Cabinet maintained that the University “does not control
the labor policies of its contractors,” writing that Emory interference would be inappropriate ahead of avenues set in
place by “comprehensive labor laws.”
Declining to establish a commission on the status of labor, the op-ed further argued that the University has “numerous
policies and avenues to address alleged inequities.”
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student Laura Emiko Soltis argued that the language in the editorial denied
responsibility for “fair and equal treatment of subcontractor employees” even though companies constantly interfere
with policies of those operating in their supply chain to ensure standard of practices.
She added that the University defers to Sodexo’s claim that no inequities have been committed, yet has no capacity to
verify the claim.
The administration, Soltis said, referred to official policies as if they were fully exercised. Soltis added that in reality,
however, a disjunction exists between what is etched in Sodexo’s code of ethics and what is in practice.
“[Sodexo’s] code of ethics is a PR document. The president pointing to this as if it’s actually in practice is dangerous,”
Soltis said.
Discontent with the administration’s response culminated in Friday’s demonstration, which included more than 45
students from Emory and other metro-Atlanta schools.
At 2:30 p.m., Gill, Soltis and College senior Christopher Banks met with Wagner.
In an e-mail to the Wheel, Wagner wrote that the University’s position remains that this labor issue is best handled
between Sodexo and its employees.
“Although neither Emory nor its employees are parties to their discussions, it is our understanding that the normal
paths available — through the NLRB, for example — have not yet been pursued,” Wagner wrote.
He added that the exercise of Emory’s responsibilities should not precede the responsibility of Sodexo and its
employees to seek remedies through established procedures and legal means.
Wagner wrote that he hopes students will consider focusing their energy on pursuing existing means to seek solutions
to their concerns.
Sodexo Resident District Manager Joe Mitchell said that employees have access to a toll-free number where they can
voice concerns anonymously, or leave their name and number with the assurance that the information would not be
shared in any further investigation of claims.
He added that federal and state governments also provide a wide range of resources for employees to express concerns.
“To believe that an employee at Emory University doesn’t have a way of reaching out to an outside source isn’t a fact in
the state of Georgia, or any other state in the country,” Mitchell said.
Soltis said she believes these existing avenues do not suffice.
These formal mechanisms, Soltis explained, do not reflect the reality of what happens in the workplace, because
employees often still feel intimidated.
Furthermore, she added, an editorial submitted by “Employees of Sodexo” and published in the March 2 issue of the
Wheel speaks as if from the perspective of food service workers, when the contributors — Allison Arcos, Suzanne
Barner, Jymetha Cobb, Whitney Ivey and Lucy Watts — are marketing personnel and a marketing intern.
She said she believes the editorial was intended to mislead the community into dismissing concerns previously posed.
Soltis added that she believes the group’s two proposals challenge the University’s logic of distancing itself from

subcontracting employees but are not impossible to achieve.
“Our requests don’t cost anything financially,” Soltis said. “What we are asking is in complete agreement with this
University’s ethical principles.”
She added that presidential commissions have always originated from student activists voicing campus concerns and
are not a radical or hefty suggestion.
Gill said the group will continue to pursue the implementation of their two demands.
“It’s only a matter of time before [the administration] realizes they’re on the wrong side of the issue,” Gill said.
Banks said he believes Sodexo employees, who still “carry the Emory name,” need to be treated equally under one code
of conduct.
“I want Emory students to stand up and look at this,” Banks said. “We’re privileged to be at Emory, so let’s use that
privilege to help others who do not have the same privileges.”
— Contact Tiffany Han.

300 Students and State Union Delegates
Hold Massive Sit-In at University of
Pittsburgh
In an unprecedented show of support for campus
food service workers, University of Pittsburgh
students, labor leaders and elected officials held a
massive sit-in at the school's Market Central
dining hall today to protest contractor Sodexo's
unlawful attacks on employees' rights. There,
more than 150 Sodexo food service workers are
trying to form a union, but the company has met
their efforts with threats and interrogation.
"I really think the union is now the only way we
can get a fair wage, affordable healthcare and a
guaranteed 40 hour work week," said Sodexo
worker David Brown. "But management is trying
to stop us from getting the pay and benefits our
families need."
In Pittsburgh, workers have filed charges with
National Labor Relations Board because Sodexo
management threatened and interrogated them for trying to organize. The labor board has launched an investigation
into workers' claims.
Today's action temporarily shut down the dining hall, and occurred after students, Sodexo workers and AFL-CIO
delegates met at Schenley Plaza for a rally. Holding signs and chanting, students led the charge into the cafeteria, and
were followed by hundreds of protesters.
"We went into the cafeteria to tell Sodexo management that workers on our campus should be able to improve their
jobs and improve their lives without fear of being fired or intimidated," said University of Pittsburgh student Gabriel
McMorland.
Sodexo workers without a union at University of Pittsburgh earn poverty wages--as little as $8.75 an hour--and most
can't afford health care coverage. The 150 union Sodexo workers on campus can make nearly 50 percent more an hour
and have 90 percent employer paid insurance.
Union takes action against Sodexo
By Eric Shannon
Pitt News
Tue, 13 Apr, 2010
http://pittnews.com/article/2010/04/13/union-takes-action-against-sodexo
A federal labor agency is investigating how Sodexo treats its workers at Pitt.

The National Labor Relations Board began investigating Sodexo, the company that cooks the food in many of Pitt’s
dining facilities, after the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ filed a complaint with the board March
23. The union represents some of the Sodexo employees who work in Market Central, The Perch at Sutherland and the
William Pitt Union. It has attended several Sodexo workers’ protests on Pitt’s campus.
In its complaint, the SEIU states that Sodexo has allegedly engaged in “unfair labor practices” since about January.
These practices include, “interrogating a worker about his union activity,” “telling workers that their efforts to organize
with a union would be futile,” “threatening to more strictly enforce company rules if the union becomes the collective
bargaining representative,” “threatening to eliminate certain workplace privileges if the union becomes the collective
bargaining representative,” and “telling a worker that he is not allowed to attend a union meeting and threatening to
discipline him for attending such meeting,”
according to the complaint.
Pitt spokesman John Fedele declined to comment
on the issue.
“This is a national issue between the union and
Sodexo,” Fedele said. “We will not be commenting
at this time.”
Sodexo has about 400 employees, according to the
complaint.
Representatives from Sodexo did not respond to
requests for comment last night.
Union organizes protest at Market Central
By Michael Macagnone / Senior Staff Writer
published: Wed, 14 Apr, 2010
State Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Allegheny, told people in Market Central yesterday that they haven't seen the last of the
demonstrations.
A tide of purple-shirted, yellow-sign-waving protesters descended on Market Central yesterday afternoon.
Protesters from the Service Employees International Union joined a protest by Pitt student group Students in
Solidarity with Service Workers.
After a brief but loud protest inside the cafeteria, police asked the protesters to leave. The group soon dispersed after
leaving Towers.
“Everyone dispersed as soon as the police asked,” said Pitt junior Shannon Sweeney, a member of the group.
Matt Painter, a spokesman for the Service Employees International Union, a union Sodexo employees can join for
representation, said the group was protesting against Sodexo’s treatment of its non-unionized workers on Pitt’s
campus. Sodexo runs Pitt’s dining services at all of its campuses.
He said that about 150 of Sodexo’s employees at Pitt were not in unions and received worse pay and benefits than
unionized workers. The non-union workers were the focus of the protest and SEIU’s action, he said.
Students in Solidarity with Service Workers focuses on “pressuring the University” to help provide better work
environments for its employees, Sweeney said. Although the Sodexo employees are not part of the University staff, she
said Pitt could dictate the terms of its contract with Sodexo, providing for better pay and work benefits.

Pitt spokesman John Fedele did not have a comment, stating that the protest was an issue between the union and
Sodexo.
The local SEIU chapter filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on March 24, alleging that Sodexo
employees were coerced and interrogated, according to the National Labor Relations Board website.
"We will take this back to France and the
U.K."
Global Delegation Marches with Workers and Students at GMU
The 8-person delegation of French and British Sodexo workers and trade unionists had an exciting day Wednesday at
George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, VA.
At the college's large cafeteria, Sodexo
workers talked with the delegation during
their short lunch breaks. What the French
and British visitors learned from these
conversations shocked them--employer
intimidation, lack of respect on the job,
concerns with wages and benefits, and
Sodexo's strong opposition to workers
coming together in a union.
"We are blown away by how brave these
workers are," said John Fox of Unison, the
largest public services union in the U.K.
"At home, it's a God-given right to join a
union. Here, workers live in fear."
After spending several hours meeting with
a number of workers and organizers, the delegation was joined by supportive GMU students, who--along with those
brave Sodexo workers--led the group on a peaceful march through campus to the Sodexo management office.
Each partner union--the CGT and CFDT from France, along with Unison--marched while carrying their own union's
flags, a visible sign of global solidarity and support for our campaign.
Two chants--"Tous ensemble! Tous ensemble! Oui ! Oui ! [all together--yes]" along with "No justice, no pizza!" seemed
to be the most popular.
Once the group reached the managers' office, however, things got serious. The site manager of Sodexo was called from
her office to listen to the group as representatives of the students, workers, and the visiting partner unions voiced their
concerns and their desire to meet with management to discuss them.
"We will support our friends in the United States," stated Silvie Emmanuela Beccari, the CFDT National Chief Steward
for Sodexo France (Silvie is responsible for organizing Sodexo employees in France; negotiating and monitoring the
application of collective agreements within the company, and overseeing worker education programs).
"We ask that these workers be treated fairly," Silvie told the site manager. "And after meeting with workers here, we see
that it's not the case. The company needs to work on its image in the United States."

"We will take this back to France and back to the U.K.," members of the delegation told management. Following the
march on the managers' office, our international visitors met one-on-one with both students and workers, continuing
to hear their stories and taking notes and many photographs.
"People need dignity and respect, and recognition for the work that they do," said Girard Bodard, CGT Regional Chief
Steward and a Sodexo worker in the Lyon region of France for 37 years. "We will take the message that we have heard
from the workers--concerns over wages and benefits, hours, and lack of dignity and respect--back to France with us."
Elaine Carswell of Unison was moved by the stories she heard Wednesday. "These unfair practices need to stop here--
otherwise, they're going to the U.K.," she said. "It's like a virus, and it will spread unless we stop it now."
After the action at GMU, the delegation leapt into a van and onto National Airport in Washington, where they caught a
late afternoon flight to Columbus. Tomorrow--on to Ohio State University, where they will once again join with Sodexo
workers in unity and solidarity.
Sodexo Worker Addresses Secretary of
Labor at First-Ever OSHA Conference on
Latino Workers
When you think about health and safety
issues that face working people, you might
not immediately think about people who
work in the service sector. But the fact is,
janitors, food service workers, and laundry
workers face potentially serious health and
safety issues every day on the job.
At a conference today focused on how health
and safety issues affect Latino workers,
Maria Isabel Grijalva--a custodian who
works for Sodexo at Whittier College in
California--had the opportunity to address
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and a packed
room of over 1,000 people that included
many regulators from the U.S. Occupational
Safety and Health Administration.
On Thursday, SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina addressed the conference. "Case after case shows us that
joining a union is one of the single greatest ways to protect workers from exploitation and eroding workplace
standards. But, labor unions are not enough," said Medina. Latino workers face the highest rates of injury and death on
the job. Making matters worse, our broken immigration system keeps immigrant workers in the shadows--afraid to
blow the whistle on employers who continue to violate wage and workplace safety laws.
Maria, whose employer has come under fire for its mistreatment of workers, spoke about issues that she faces on the
job. Before the meeting, Secretary Solis met privately with a group of workers, including Maria Isabel, who were
scheduled to speak at the event.
"We have to use some very harsh chemicals like this one," Maria Isabel told attendees of the conference, holding up a
bottle of QC 91 Acid Bathroom Cleaner. "When I use this chemical it makes me cough and makes my eyes water. We

have heard that Sodexo has stopped using this chemical at another location, but at Whittier College we still have to use
it. In case we get chemicals in our eyes, there are only two locations on campus that have eye stations. If I needed to get
to them from where I am cleaning I would have to go down flights of stairs and walk almost half a block to get there."
Along with her co-workers at Whittier, she's working hard to improve conditions for Sodexo janitors. "We believe that
we have to stand up for better conditions," she told the group, eliciting a rousing round of applause. "Last September
we came together and started to organize to hold our employer accountable for the bad conditions. We decided that we
wanted to form a union so that we could have a contract that guaranteed safer conditions, better wages, and affordable
healthcare coverage. A union contract would give us added protection so we can speak up for safer conditions and not
be fearful of retaliation."
California Hospital, University Workers
Join Week of National Sodexo Actions to
Protest Unfair Labor Practices
National actions by Sodexo workers spread to California
today as workers at Whittier College and Doctor's Hospital
Manteca rallied today to protest rights violations by their
employer in response to their efforts to improve working
conditions and raise their families out of poverty by
forming a union.
In Sacramento, workers converged on a Sodexo human
resources office. "We had a meeting with these two
important people from Sodexo where they told us that
Sodexo is a family and that a union is a middle man," says
Manteca Sodexo food service worker Sasha Ovieda, who
was at the rally. "But I know Sodexo could care less about
us."
"It's sad that I work at a hospital, and I don't even have health insurance," says Ovieda.
In Whittier, about 150 people workers met at the Whittier College Campus Center and marched through campus.
"Sodexo supervisors have been trying to discourage us from forming a union, saying that we should be grateful just to
have a job when others places are laying off staff," says housekeeper Isabel Grijalva, who couldn't be present at the rally
because she was testifying at a health and safety conference in Houston sponsored by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.
"But I know that they are just trying to scare us. I tell my coworkers not be afraid, because we have the right to make
our own decision. Sodexo can't fire us for that."
In recent months, Sodexo workers in eight states have filed 16 "unfair labor practices" charges with the National Labor
Relations Board against Sodexo for illegal firings, interrogations, and surveillance. In Manteca, Sodexo management
followed up on threats to hospital cafeteria workers that it would eliminate a benefit of free meals if the workers
continue to support forming a union, and restricted their rights to speak about union activities. These actions, which
would violate federal law, are currently being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board. And at Whittier
College, Sodexo housekeepers faced intimidation from their supervisors and mandatory staff meetings.

At the time they were faced with Sodexo's unfair labor practices, Sodexo workers throughout California were trying to
organize to improve abusive working conditions including health and safety problems; inadequate staffing levels,
training and equipment; disrespect; low wages; and inadequate benefits.
Whittier College workers, students, union officials
protest against Sodexo
By Tracy Garcia, Staff Writer
Whitter Daily News
April 14, 2010
WHITTIER - A fight over whether subcontracted housekeepers and janitors should form their own union
spilled onto the Whittier College campus Wednesday, as workers and students held a noontime march and protest
against Sodexo Inc.
Sodexo, an international company, provides staff for housekeeping and janitorial services at Whittier College on a
contract basis.
But at Wednesday's protest, these service workers accused Sodexo of creating obstacles toward unionizing and
maintaining a work environment that allegedly includes health and safety problems, inadequate staffing levels and
health benefits, and low wages.
They were joined by Whittier College students and leaders from United Service Workers West of the Service Employees
International Union, which is encouraging Sodexo workers to unionize.
"We are here for action against unfair labor practices by Sodexo," housekeeper Teresa Bautista told a crowd of about 70
people on the hill above the college's Campus Center.
"There are bad working conditions and poor salaries. We try to do the best we can (at our jobs but) they give us so
much work," Bautista said. "And the ones who end up suffering are the students."
By unionizing, workers say, they'll be able to improve working conditions and raise their families out of poverty.
But Sodexo officials said Wednesday's protest - as well as a slew of similar marches and rallies taking place across the
country at Sodexosites this week - is part of an "ongoing SEIU smear campaign," said Sodexo spokesman Alfred King.
"The SEIU is organizing the activity on the Whittier campus (and it) spreads misinformation about the company's
labor practices and attempts to force the company into dealing with the SEIU to the exclusion of other unions," King
said.
"We respect the rights of our employees to unionize or not unionize, as they choose," King said. "SEIU's allegations
that Sodexo interferes with workers' rights to unionize are false."
At Wednesday's event, protesters marched around campus and a small delegation presented a petition to college
President Sharon Herzberger's office, but she wasn't there.
"We want to reach out to the administration, and ask that President Herzberger sit and talk to workers about what
they're facing withSodexo," said Andrew Gross Gaitan, the SEIU's California multi-service campaign director.
But the college's Dean of Students Jeanne Ortiz said the issue is "really an employment labor matter
between Sodexo and its employees. The college does not want to interfere with the process.
"But as an educational institution - especially one founded by Quakers who believe in listening to diverse voices - the
college seeks to take advantage of situations like this to encourage (everyone) to examine all sides of the issue and learn
from the experience," she said.
tracy.garcia@sgvn.com

Students protest Sodexo
Demonstration brings attention to service worker conditions
Neslie Tumulac
Quaker Campus
April 15, 2010
http://media.www.quakercampus.org/media/storage/paper1281/news/2010/04/15/News/Students.Protest.Sodexo-
3906446.shtml
Despite a busy lunch hour, students passing through the Campus Center took notice of passionate chants for justice
and paused to witness a crowd of protesters gathering in the courtyard at noon on Wednesday, April 14. Approximately
70 students faculty, administrators, union supporters and members of the housekeeping staff turned up for the
demonstration with signs in hand to protest the working conditions of housekeepers at Whittier College, who are
employed by the French-based corporation, Sodexo.Â
"I realize how difficult it is to motivate students to be active and participate," junior Veronica Moreno said. "But I'm
really happy with the turnout and that faculty was also able to come out."
As the gathering proceeded to a large grassy area by the Campus Center, students hanging out nearby positioned
themselves attentively to listen to the stories of grievances and the shouts of supports that could be heard from a circle
of people over speakerphone.
The protest at Whittier, which is part of a national movement concerning Sodexo's treatment of its employees,
concluded with a march throughout the lower campus. At that time, several individuals left a worker petition for
improved wages and working conditions at the office of President Herzberger, who was unavailable to receive the
petition in person. The protest lasted approximately 40 minutes.Â
"We want to raise awareness," first-year Amber Orozco said. "It's important for people to know about it because then
they want to act."
The protest was organized a month ago by the recently organized Whittier College Students for Workers who met with
Whittier College administrators and Campus Safety for proper authorization of the event. After receiving approval the
protest was advertised to students a week and a half ago.
"Some people are really shy about doing this sort of thing," Orozco said. "But if we get more people together we'll have
more of a voice."Â
Student efforts for improved housekeeping conditions have been active at Whittier as early as February. Since that
time, members of Whittier College Students for Workers have met for lunch with the housekeepers on a weekly basis to
discuss working conditions and progressive efforts to create and implement a code of conduct for contracted employees
at Whittier College.
A completed code of conduct was e-mailed to the student body on March 22 and finally presented to Whittier Vice
President of Finance Jim Dunkleman on April 2.
The code of conduct is intended for employees contracted, subcontracted and hired by Whittier and guarantees certain
basic rights concerning working conditions, wages and procedures for addressing grievances.Â Whittier College
Students for Workers, who describe their objectives as pro-worker, neither supports nor rejects the idea of unionizing
the housekeepers although they collaborate with Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a fast-growing union
in North America that focuses on improving the lives of employees in the healthcare, property services and public
services through unionizing.
According to an involved student, there have been no disagreements between the groups so far, although some
Whittier College employees disagree with unionizing.
"I'm against the union," four-year Whittier College maintenance employee Robert Benitez" said. "We have a job and
there are a lot of people unemployed now. I work for Sodexo, too, and we might lose the contract."

Whittier College Students for Workers is currently awaiting the response of Dunkleman regarding the code of conduct
and hopes to implement this code in the near future.
The organization also plans to keep in contact with the housekeepers, stay updated and continue working with workers
and administration.
http://media.www.quakercampus.org/media/storage/paper1281/news/2010/04/15/News/Students.Protest.Sodexo-
3906446.shtml
Northwestern's
Shantytown
Almost 20 Sodexo workers at Northwestern University constructed a
"shantytown" in front of the school's administration building in order to
protest poverty wages paid to the workers, as well as alleged civil rights
and federal labor law violations committed against workers by the
company.
At around 3:30 p.m. yesterday in front of the Northwestern Administration Building, Rebecca Crown Center, in
Evanston, IL, Sodexo workers at Northwestern, some who are paid as little as $9.40 per hour and are forced to rely on
public assistance for medical care, stood up for their rights and said "Enough is Enough! It's time to clean up Sodexo!"
Among the workers at Northwestern who have been protesting the threats, harassment, and firings by Sodexo of its
employees who tried to take a stand, include Rafael Crudup, a parent who makes so little he has to live at the YMCA.
Look Who's Taking Note of our "Spring
Cleaning"
In press coverage across the country and around the world, the media is
taking note of Sodexo workers and their supporters who are standing up
against attacks on workers' efforts to form a union.
Yesterday in New Orleans, wage theft, racial discrimination, poverty-
level wages and inadequate health care were among the allegations
against Sodexo at a New Orleans City Council committee meeting.
The Times-Picayune reported how several workers spoke up, saying "that
even after years on the job, their wages are so low they must rely on food
stamps and free or reduced-price school lunches to feed their families
and are unable to afford adequate health insurance.
"Others said Sodexo does not offer opportunities for promotion and
advancement and has fired at least one worker who supported
the...union...."
Respected French publications such as Agence France Press and Le
Figaro are reporting not only on the delegation of French CGT and CFDT

union representatives who are now visiting the United States this week (along with British Unison representatives) to
participate in the several days of action against Sodexo's behavior.
The CFDT's Enrique Cuevas told AFP, "For us, this is a long-term campaign involving inter-union and international
solidarity."
Le Figaro also detailed Representative Loretta Sanchez' demand for a U.S. government investigation of the services
Sodexo provided to U.S. Marines, citing waste and possible sanitary issues, specifically giving an example of the
delivery of "3,000 chickens contaminated with the listeria bacteria to the military bases of Camp Pendleton in San
Diego."
And university and college newspapers across the country continue to cover the amazing solidarity that students are
showing Sodexo workers' on their campuses, through rallies, marches, and other demonstrations against Sodexo's
insistence of poverty wages and inadequate access to affordable health care, wage theft, ongoing allegations of
discrimination, and unsafe working conditions for its workers.
Sodexo's workers have been met with interrogation, threats, surveillance, and even terminations, as part of a deliberate
campaign by Sodexo to suppress its own workers' efforts to seek humane and just working conditions.
We won't be silent anymore!

Twenty More Arrests as Sodexo Protests
Spread to Ohio State University
Twenty people were arrested at Ohio State University today as part of a rally protesting the mistreatment of campus
Sodexo food service workers seeking to improve their conditions. TheColumbus Dispatch reported on the
protest today, citing the "poverty wages" that Sodexo pays "and that most employees are part-time and don't receive
health-care coverage."
About 10 workers and 10 OSU students
marched from the quad on campus down
High Street, the main thoroughfare that
runs alongside campus. The group sat
down in a straight line right in front of the
new student union, on city property.
Linking arms and chanting "O-H-I-
O...Clean Up So-dex-o!!," the group
received two police warnings before being
arrested and put in a paddy wagon.
Workers--one of whom was Wayne Suber,
who is in a wheelchair--were supported by
other students and workers who continued
rallying, chanting, and holding banners on
the side of the street, protesting Sodexo's
actions against workers seeking to form a
union. This activity is the basis of 16 unfair
labor practice charges pending before the National Labor Relations Board in eight states.
Three news helicopters hovered overhead as over 200 OSU students, community members, and service workers
protested. They were joined by an international delegation of French and British trade unionists who are supporting
U.S. Sodexo workers who are standing up.
Sodexo employees at OSU's athletics facilities are paid poverty wages and most have no access to affordable health
care. Sodexo workers at Ohio State University and on campuses across the country who are campaigning to improve
their working conditions have come under attack by Sodexo in recent months including interrogations, surveillance,
and even firings of union activists.
Among those who stood up for their rights are the Snell family. At least 12 of Sara Snell's immediate family members
work for Sodexo at OSU--and more if you count in-laws. Since starting work for Sodexo in 2002, Sara has always
needed a second job to pay the bills and raise her kids.
"I want better for my kids. I won't let them work for Sodexo," Sara says. "I want them to have a chance to succeed by
advancing on the job and Sodexo doesn't give you that option. If someone works hard every day, they should have
advancement opportunities. I don't have that."
Sara's mom Marcia only makes $14,000 a year, can't afford health insurance, and has no paid sick days.

"I need health insurance, but can't afford it. I need eyeglasses but can't buy them," Marcia says. "Obviously, I do my job
well or they wouldn't have kept me for 10 years. I'm tired of begging for a raise and I'm tired of sacrificing time with my
kids for a job that keeps us in poverty."
"If we were all treated the same--if the rules applied to everybody--then we'd be a lot happier in our job. I see women
who are hired earn less than the men who get hired at the same time for the same job. I don't think that's fair."
The Snells want more for their family and their community, so they took a stand.
Another Sodexo employee who marched today is Sandy Dailey, a Sodexo food service worker at OSU. Though she's
worked for Sodexo for 9 years, she's never had access to affordable health insurance.
On just $9 an hour, Sandy can't afford to pay for medical care out of pocket so she hasn't seen a doctor in 3 years
despite having a serious heart condition.
Sandy has already had two heart attacks
at work after having to lift boxes of
syrup for soda--some as heavy as 60
pounds. She is supposed to take
medicine for her high blood pressure
but can't afford it.
The last time she complained of chest
pain and declined to lift the boxes, her
Sodexo supervisor didn't schedule her to
work for a whole week afterwards.
"So I lift the boxes," she says, tears
streaming down her face. "I know I
shouldn't, but what choice do I have? If
I don't do it, I don't get scheduled."
Sodexo workers from France and
England joined the Ohio State University march, standing in solidarity with the U.S. Sodexo workers. French and
British unions along with SEIU are working together to secure a global guarantee from Sodexo to improve pay and
working conditions and guarantee the right of Sodexo workers to be able to join a union without opposition.
Global Delegation Meets with OSU
Workers Before This Afternoon's Rally
Sodexo workers and unionists from France and the United Kingdom began their day in Columbus, Ohio, meeting with
workers, students and SEIU members before a large rally at Ohio State University.
The visiting delegation was especially moved by the workers, students and staff who will be participating in civil
disobedience at the rally.
"I think it's courageous," said Emilie Wirtz of the CFDT in France. "It's especially courageous for students who aren't in
the profession."
"In France, when they see this, they will have an idea of what can happen to workers here," said Silvie Emmanuela
Beccari of the CFDT. "This will mobilize the French wage workers even more."

Wayne Suber, Sodexo worker at Ohio State, is participating in today's civil disobedience because he wants to inform the
greater community about the injust labor practices that Sodexo implements at their worksite, such as hiring through
nepotism, working people as "part time" but through full-time hours. "I feel that this is unjust--workers should be
rewarded through their hard work."
Mr. Suber is a proud member of the US Air Force and comes from at least four generations in the military service.
Brian Smith, an original member of SEIU Local 1 in Ohio, said, "I am very excited to have our European brothers and
sisters here to support Sodexo workers in their struggle to organize."
Elaine Carswell, of the UK union Unison, wrote a quick email update to her family. "People willing to put themselves in
jail for the cause! I wonder how many people would do this at home?"
Ohio State protest ends with 20-25 arrests
By Bill Bush
The Columbus Dispatch
Thursday, April 15, 2010 3:43 PM
Between 20 and 25 protesters were arrested this afternoon after they sat in the middle of N. High Street during a
demonstration against the company that runs food-service operations for Ohio State University's sports venues.
The Service Employees International Union helped organize protests in Ohio and nine other states. Protesters said
Sodexo pays "poverty wages" and that most employees are part-time and don't receive health-care coverage.
At Ohio State, students and Sodexo workers marched from the William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library to the new
Ohio Union.
The union said ahead of time that civil disobedience was expected. The way it went down was negotiated beforehand
with Columbus police, said Lt. Christopher Bowling.
Protesters walked into High Street during a red light and sat down. Columbus police then warned the demonstrators
that they would be arrested if they did not move. Then officers moved in. The demonstrators did not resist arrest, and
some even joked with officers as they waited in line at a police wagon.
Bowling said they would be charged with disorderly conduct, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.
Demonstrations were also planned today in California, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
25 protestors arrested for blocking High Street
By Ben Brown
The Lantern
Thursday, April 15, 2010
http://www.thelantern.com/campus/25-protestors-arrested-for-blocking-high-street-1.1345041
Twenty-five people were arrested for sitting on High Street, near Ohio State campus, Thursday afternoon in protest
against what protestors deem as unfair labor practices of an OSU-contracted food-service company.
With signs and bullhorns of more than 50 additional protestors flanking High Street, 25 people sat on the crosswalk in
front of the Ohio Union’s east entrance.

“We were here waiting for them,” Columbus Police officer Christopher Bowling said. “Each of the students arrested will
be reported to OSU Judicial Affairs.”
The protesters consisted of members of the Service Employees International Union and employees of the multinational
food-service giant Sodexo, which made more than a half billion dollars in profit last year.
OSU has a contract for Sodexo to provide food-service workers for the Ohio Stadium, Schottenstein Center and other
venues. Campaigning for better wages and affordable health care, these workers sought help from President E. Gordon
Gee.
Sodexo employees and union members sent an e-mail to request a meeting with Gee that said, “through OSU’s contract
with Sodexo, you have the ability to ensure that OSU subcontracted employees are able to organize and collectively
bargain without fear of intimidation or discrimination.”
“Gee e-mailed us back and said he would allow no more than four students to meet with him,” said Meghan Day, third-
year in computer science and a Sodexo employee. “We expected Gee to be polite and then do nothing about it. But he
was rude and hardly let us talk.”
As such, protesters held three large signs with caricatures of Gee drawn over the words “silent on Sodexo abuses,”
“refusing to hear our voices” and “turning a blind eye to campus workers,” respectively.
Each of the students that met with Gee was committed enough to the cause to volunteer to be arrested in what the
union’s Web site called “the largest act of civil disobedience Columbus has seen since the Vietnam War era.”
“These employees wanted to alert the community of the Sodexo working conditions they face everyday,” the union
representative Juanita Sanchez said of the planned protest.
“We started at the library then marched around the Oval before stopping at High Street,” Sodexo employee Sandy
Dailey said.
Columbus Police said they found fliers yesterday informing them of the protest. “We knew they planned to sit down on
the crosswalk,” Bowling said. “But sometimes protestors back out, so we waited until they actually sat down and caused
a problem.”
Cars heading in both directions were forced to stop before police officers on horseback officially blocked traffic. “We
didn’t want the protestors there but we had to protect them,” Bowling said.
Thirty seconds after protestors blocked the street, the police read an official warning that began “you are hindering
movement of persons on public property.”
Next, officers waited 30 more seconds for the protestors to comply before reading the warning a second time. “They
weren’t going anywhere,” Bowling said.
Officers then tapped each of the 25 street-blockers on the shoulder while informing them they were being placed under
arrest for disorderly conduct, which is a fourth-degree misdemeanor. The police made sure the protestors knew to
come peacefully to avoid further charges.
“They wanted to make a point but didn’t want it to be a mess,” Bowling said. “And neither did we.”
The mission statement for Service Employees International Union is to “improve the lives of workers and their families
to create a more just and humane society.” And coordinated chants of “si se puede!” and “yes we can!” echoed the
protestors’ collective commitment to those ends.

“Many of these workers are unable to support their families on the poverty wages that Sodexo pays,” SEIU
communication specialist Laurie Couch said. “They need a voice on the job and they need respect and dignity.”
As one of three massive international companies that dominate the low-wage service industry Thursday’s protestors
work for, Sodexo uses its might to intimidate would-be unionizers.
“The old model of unionizing doesn’t work against multi-national companies like Sodexo,” Couch said.
Poorly treated workers typically form unions to improve their working conditions by signing a petition signaling their
intent to vote for one. But there is a four to six week period before that vote that companies use to intimidate its
employees, Day said.
As an alternative to this official National Labor Relations Board election process, Sodexo workers opted for a majority
sign-up system that uses secret balloting so that companies can’t target individuals. Also called a card check system,
this method became an option with the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935 and is used in dealing with
larger corporations like Sodexo.
“In the meeting with protestors, Gee said card checks is the soviet way of doing things,” Day said. Once protestors
dispersed from High Street, those with Gee signs moved to continue protesting in front of his office.
Thursday’s protest was part of a week of action against Sodexo around the country, which included 14 separate protests
in 10 states ranging from New Jersey to California. Each is documented on the movement’s Web site,
cleanupsodexo.org.
The OSU protest is of particular interest to the movement. “Ohio State is the largest university in the country,” Sanchez
said. “It has the power to influence others.”
French and British Partners Reaffirm
Their Support at OSU Rally
Under a blindingly hot sun this afternoon at the
campus of Ohio State University, the delegation of
Sodexo workers from France and Great Britain
joined with Sodexo workers from OSU in an
emotional rally, march and civil disobedience at one
of the largest universities in the country.
SEIU Executive Vice President Mitch Ackerman
greeted the group, saying, "Sodexo's corporate motto
is 'Quality of life solutions.' When workers are paid
as low as $7.50 per hour...that's not a quality of life
solution."
Ackerman recognized the global nature of the
Sodexo campaign, and introduced the international
delegation from both the U.K. and the country that is
home to Sodexo, France.

"We will do our best to make Sodexo understand and admit that they must recognize union rights in the United States,"
stated Silvie Emmanuela Beccari of the French labor federation CFDT. "It is unconscionable to work in the same
company and to see the wages, treatment, working conditions and the lives of workers here so different to those in
France.
"You can count on our support," Silvie concluded. "We will attempt to mobilize every worker in France so that the voice
of workers in the United States is heard."
Jean-Michel Dupire of the CGT was moved by the support of students, the community and clergy, Sodexo workers and
allies, at the rally. "We have come to show our support," he said. "And because of your strong will and commitment, I
am convinced that your flight will be a winning fight. We encourage workers to continue to organize because there is
strength in numbers."
Bob Oram of Unison next took the bullhorn and stirred the emotion of the crowd. "These days, every worker in the
world is suffering, because we've got companies who believe that the 'race to the bottom' is right--and they've sacrificed
principles for profit," he said. He led the group in a chant of "three important words--organize, organize, organize!"
Following the rally, Sodexo workers, student allies, global union partners and community members marched through
the main center courtyard at the OSU campus--where hundreds of students sat on the grass in the hot midday sun--
some showing support of the march, others asking questions of the participants.
With chants such as "O-H-I-O, Clean up Sodexo" and the French chant "Tous ensemble! Oui!" the group marched to a
busy intersection in front of the OSU student union on High Street.
There, students, Sodexo workers and organizers sat on the intersection, blocking the streets in a peaceful protest, and
were arrested by Columbus police.
While the crowd continued to chant, those who participated in the civil disobedience were handcuffed and taken away.
As the members of the visiting global delegation watched the action, they were visibly moved, with tears in their eyes.
"They're all just so courageous," said Elaine Carswell of Unison.
Sodexo Workers at George Mason University
On Strike
In response to rampant mistreatment by food service contractor Sodexo, around 75
cafeteria workers at George Mason University went on strike today. The one-day
work stoppage is in protest of Sodexo's attack on workers' right to raise their
families out of poverty by forming a union with 32BJ SEIU.
"All we want is respect and to improve our lives but Sodexo management has only
responded by intimidating and threatening us", says Andres Ujueta, one of the
striking cafeteria workers at George Mason University.
Despite their dedication and hard work, GMU cafeteria workers earn a poverty
wage--as little as $8.65 an hour. With Sodexo's healthcare plan costing $240 a
month, most workers say they can't afford health insurance for their families.
Since George Mason cafeteria workers began forming a union, they have been
subjected to harassment and intimidation by Sodexo management. Earlier this

month, the workers voted to strike. Before taking this action workers have demonstrated their support to form a union
by holding rallies and delivering petitions to Sodexo management.
Yesterday union leaders representing Sodexo workers in England and France met with George Mason cafeteria workers
and students and were shocked at the conditions and treatment workers faced. Click here to read more about the visit
of the global delegation to GMU.
George Mason Strike Grows to 100
As night shift workers at George Mason University report to work, their strike has now grown to over 100 people.
The strike has received amazing coverage from the Washington Business Journal and GMU's
newspaper, Connect2Mason, which reports:
"We want to be able to choose to have a union so we can defend our rights," said [Ana] Urias, who works at Jazzman's
in the Johnson Center.
Around 1 p.m., the workers began marching to campus, where they gathered at the North Plaza with signs, that read
"Sodexo Unfair, Clean up Sodexo," and shouting "Sodexo escucha!," "Si se puede!" and "Estamos listos!"
As readers of this blog know, Sodexo has been suppressing workers seeking to make this choice, which has led to 16
unfair labor practice charges filed in 8 states and spurred worker protests.
This morning, at least one campus cafeteria had to shut down operations because of the strike.
Sodexo cafeteria workers strike at George Mason
University
Jeff Clabaugh
Washington Business Journal
April 15, 2010
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/04/12/daily52.html
Dozens of cafeteria workers at George Mason University walked off the job Thursday in protest over what they
say is harassment by their Gaithersburg employer, Sodexo Inc., since agreeing to unionize.
Union leaders also say a number of George Mason students rallied with the Sodexo employees, about 100 of which took
part in the protest, according to union spokesperson Julie Karant.
The union is also protesting what it says are low wages and high health insurance costs.
“Sodexo made more than $1 billion in profits last year, and instead of paying workers what their families need, the
company would rather use its immense resources to attack workers’ rights,” said Jamie Contreras, director of the 32BJ
SEIU district.
Sodexo said the protestors represent a small portion of its workforce, and calls it part of an ongoing smear campaign by
the SEIU against the company.
“We respect our employees rights as defined by our labor laws, and believe that most employees are very satisfied with
their work experience at Sodexo, based on many third-party recognitions of the company as a great place to work,” said
Sodexo spokesman Alfred King in an e-mailed statement.
He also cited Sodexo’s employee turnover rate, which he described as the lowest in the company’s industry.

Sodexo has about 450 employees at George Mason University and 6,500 employees in the Washington region.
Earlier this week, Sodexo was one of six companies listed by Working Mother Magazine on its first annual list of best
places to work for hourly employees.
The one-day work stoppage at George Mason University is part of what the union called a national week of action, with
Sodexo cafeteria workers and janitors participating in strikes in 11 states.
George Mason University officials said they are keeping an eye on the situation, but not involved in the employee
matters.
“George Mason University is monitoring the current dispute between Sodexo and members of its workforce,” said Dan
Walsch, spokesman for the university.
“Mason views this as an internal matter for Sodexo. The university hopes the points of disagreement within Sodexo are
resolved quickly and in a manner that is beneficial to all concerned. Presently, the dispute has not resulted in any
disruption of services to our students and employees,” Walsch said. “Mason remains committed to ensuring that these
services continue.”
Over 5,000 Letters of Support Come
Pouring In
Over the course of the
week, the community
support for Sodexo workers
and this campaign has truly
been awe-inspiring.
Since the week began, we've
had the honor of receiving
over 5,000 letters of
support from people across
the country.
It's hard to demonstrate the
scope of that. So we've
taken all of the words and
generated something called
a word cloud. The larger the word, the more times it was used by those who wrote in. Take a look and see:
We took this word cloud, along with some of the best quotes, and delivered them to Sodexo workers across the country.
This way, they know the amazing people that are standing with them.

Workers Strike in Pittsgrove to Protest
Against Intimidation
In response to rampant mistreatment by food service contractor
Sodexo, school cafeteria workers in Pittsgrove Township went on
strike today. The one-day work stoppage is in protest of Sodexo's
attack on workers' exercise of their federal rights to act together
to raise their families out of poverty by forming a union with
32BJ SEIU.
"I love serving the students, and it's hard work," says Denise
Powell, one of the school cafeteria workers. "Right now, we can't
live off the wages we make. Forming a union is the only way we'll
be able to earn enough to put food on our families' tables, and we
want to organize without being scared by the company."
Despite their dedication and hard work, Pittsgrove cafeteria
workers earn a poverty wage--as little as $7.50 an hour. With
Sodexo's healthcare plan costing $240 a month, most workers
say they can't afford health insurance for their families.
Since August, when school cafeteria workers began forming a union, they have been subjected to harassment and
intimidation by Sodexo management. Earlier this week, the workers voted to strike. Workers are striking at Schlalick
High School, Olivet Elementary School, and Deerfield Elementary.
While management rolls out a campaign of coercion, Sodexo employees gained the support of the students they serve.
Yesterday, dozens of Pittsgrove students wore T-shirts that read "I'm Supporting My Lunch Lady."
"I'm wearing a support our lunch ladies t-shirt because I believe that the lunch ladies don't get paid enough for their
hard work," said Georgia Maitland, a high school student in Pittsgrove. "They get paid $7.50 an hour, which is how
much some teenagers make at their jobs. With this pay, it's hard for them to support their families. Sodexo could pay
the lunch ladies more."
Sodexo school cafeteria workers in West Orange and Long Branch, both in New Jersey, have filed charges with the
National Labor Relations Board because intimidation from Sodexo management. The Labor Board is investigating
those charges.
"Sodexo made more than $1 billion in profits last year, and instead of paying workers what their families need, the
company would rather use its immense resources to attack workers' rights," said Kevin Brown, NJ Area Director of
32BJ SEIU.
As today's actions indicate, workers and students are ready to stand up to Sodexo's attacks on their federal rights.

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