Loyola Maroon reports on Sodexo strike, Police action, and new Committee

The campaign for workers' rights was heavily represented in today's edition of the Loyola Maroon. We are glad that the Maroon took notice of the particularly important nature of last week's events:

• Labor strikes in the South are extremely rare, yet happened on our campus.
• Loyola's reaction to Friday's rally and march was nothing short of ideological profiling and was deserving of media attention.
• President Wildes' actions to form a committee overseeing contracting comes as a direct result of pressure students, workers, and community members have directed toward Loyola's administration. 

Access Denied
The Loyola Maroon

By Sam Winstrom Assistant News Editor

Thursday, April 29, 2010

University Police took action to bar a group of protesters from entering the Danna Center April 23.

Patrick Bailey, director of the Loyola University Police Department said the reason protestors were blocked from entering was because of a disruption earlier that day.

“Unannounced, the protesters had grossly disrupted the regular and essential operation of the university, specifically in the Danna Center, by marching in a very large group throughout the Danna Center, beating on buckets, shouting in loud voices and likely providing an atmosphere of intimidation to those who provide and utilize the services there,” Bailey said.

Bailey said he witnessed the event first-hand along with several other officers on duty. The decision to place security around the Danna Center was made by Paul Fleming, the Assistant vice president for Administration.

According to Fleming, protestors were confronted during their demonstration in the Danna Center, but refused to talk to police. ... (Continued)

Another article detailed the Sodexo work stoppage, though a misleading headline overlooks the fifty workers who rallied between Loyola and Tulane.

Few Sodexo workers protest in Peace Quad
The Loyola Maroon

By Jean Paul Arguello Contributing Writer

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Sodexo workers put down their knives and spatulas and picked up a beat as they walked off the job for a daylong labor strike chanting, “What we want? We want change!”

Workers paraded through both Tulane and Loyola campuses, beginning at Bruff Commons and ending outside the Danna Center early Friday morning.

They marched to the beat of a drummer beating on a five-gallon bucket, chanting, “What we want? We want change!”

Sodexo workers voted to protest claims of unfair labor practices, alleging that Sodexo, the foodservice giant employing 379,749 people worldwide, has engaged in intimidation tactics.

Tanya Aquino, Senior Communications Specialist for Service Employees International Union, said workers protested, “to show Sodexo that enough’s enough…They [Sodexo workers] want to be able to exercise their rights freely.”

The SEIU is an international labor union representing 2.2 million workers and is the union vying to represent Sodexo workers worldwide.

Aquino said more than 50 Sodexo employees from both Tulane and Loyola Universities participated in the strike. The vast majority awere from Bruff Commons dining hall on Tulane’s campus. ... (Continued)

A solid article discusses the new committee President Wildes is forming directly in response to student pressure to uphold the mission and values of our institution in University business.

Wildes calls for review of vendor policies

The Loyola Maroon

By Charmaine Jackson Contributing Writer

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Plans to devise a clearer policy for campus vendors is expected for the new school year. 

Recently, the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., sent out a letter to the Loyola community saying he will form a “university-wide committee to review our current policies, along with best practices, for our contracts with vendors.”

He will seek out a diverse group of people to comprise the committee, which will include a representative from the university faculty senate, administrative senate, Student Government Association, Student Bar Association, and the Office of Mission and Ministry. 

“I am asking the committee to review all of our existing policies that govern who we do business with and how they are supposed to conduct business,” Wildes said. 

Tommy Screen, assistant to the president on government relations and a lawyer who once worked on Capitol Hill, was selected by Wildes to chair the committee because of his experience with government regulations.

According to Wildes, the university considered developing a “clear and succinct” business policy for vendors in the past, however, it did not materialize into the policy he is now asking the committee to create. ... (Continued)