Busy summer for students and Sodexo workers

This summer, students and Sodexo workers continued to keep the pressure up toward their employer. Below is a video of the action workers and students came together to take as they seek and end to workplace intimidation and for Sodexo to respect seniority on the job. They marched into Sodexo District Manager John Monica's office but he was (conveniently, yet again) out of the office.

Check it out!

Workers take to the street

Tulane on St. Charles Avenue

On Wednesday afternoon, Sodexo workers from Loyola and Tulane took to the street in front of Loyola and Tulane Universities to bring their stories to the public.

The workers, who have been laid off for the summer, jumped at the opportunity to reunite with their co-workers and spread the truth about Sodexo. They held signs stating that Sodexo has been actively discouraging unionization and has violated federal law. They read a litany of charges that workers have filed against Sodexo including the surveillance, interrogation, and firings of workers who vocally support unionization (and those are just the charges here in New Orleans...).

During the rally, countless cars honked in response to a "Honk for Workers' Rights" sign placed on the roadside. Many more offered thumbs up, smiles, and handshakes as they walked along the sidewalk. Demonstrators handed out flyers to passengers on the streetcar as they stopped to let off passengers.

Workers and students spotted two Loyola administrators and a Sodexo manager coming to see demonstration. One administrator snapped a photo, while the manager preferred to sneakily drive by the gathering. The crowd waved hello as he drove by and then began chanting "SHAME ON SODEXO," until he was out of earshot.

Some workers spotted James Carville, a CNN correspondent and Tulane professor, jogging along the sidewalk. Once he turned into Audubon Park, two particularly athletic workers started jogging alongside him as they told their personal stories of Sodexo's deplorable working conditions. He was very receptive and promised to look into the workers' situation on his campus.

The demonstration is just one among a series of actions calling public attention to Sodexo's violations of workers' rights to organize as well as the deplorable treatment of employees that occurs on a daily basis.

Sodexo Job UNfair

Tulane held its annual New Orleans area job fair on Tulane's campus Tuesday. Sodexo workers and students were there to make sure that all prospective employees knew exactly what they were getting themselves into.

Sodexo portrays itself as a model company and uses its prestige to persuade applicants to work for them. Unfortunately, promises of promotion from within and boundless opportunity never materialize and pay never increases from just above minimum wage.

Workers told attendees exactly how much they make, how unafforable their healthcare insurance policies are, and how Sodexo management has actively discouraged unionization by intimidation, harassment, and firing of union leaders. Many prospective employees left after being told about Sodexo's abusive tactics. Many more promised to ask managers hard questions about the unfair labor practices workers have filed against Sodexo.

Sodexo job fair in progress

While handing out flyers, a WGNO news van approached and reporter Chriss Knight walked briskly toward the workers before being run off by Tulane Police. By the time WGNO reached the workers, their story about the job fair had already aired. The campaign got just a brief mention and of course, the Sodexo PR machine made a statement that Sodexo jobs are "good jobs." Watch the newscast here.

President Wildes says he will NEVER meet with Sodexo workers

On Wednesday July 7, fifteen Sodexo workers from Loyola along with their coworkers from Tulane went to Marquette Hall with the goal of meeting with Loyola's President Kevin Wildes, S.J. to address their concerns in their workplace and solicit Wildes' support in their struggle for respect and dignity on the job.

With supportive students in tow, the workers entered the glass waiting area and asked for President Wildes. His administrative assistant appeared instead. One worker spoke up and mentioned the letters they had delivered to Wildes' office in June asking for a meeting - the letters that never elicited a response. Wildes' assistant claimed the letters lacked any contact information to follow up with even though the letters had phone contact information for each worker who wrote a letter.

Just then, Wildes appeared in the lobby area and stood in his office doorway. He yelled to the gathered people:

"Let me make one thing clear: I WILL NEVER MEET WITH THE WORKERS."

Wildes never approached the group. He never introduced himself. He never inquired as to why Sodexo workers were in his office. He immediately launched into an attack on the workers, telling them they need to follow the legal process for forming a union, completely oblivious to the fact that the workers have been complying with the National Labor Relations Act since the day they began considering unionization. Workers have been forming unions by majority sign-up before and after the passing of the NLRA in 1935. Loyola's workers seek access to the same fair and legal process.

To date, President Wildes has never responded to numerous requests from workers to listen to their stories.

This office visit was the first face-to-face interaction many of the workers ever have had with President Wildes. They expressed shock that an ordained priest and president of a Catholic university would treat them with such disdain.

Even without Wildes' support, the workers are continuing their struggle for justice at Loyola and were not deterred.

(Photo by Alan Grunberg)

Summer update...

Currently, the majority of Loyola's Sodexo workers are at home, unemployed, and barely getting by on their savings and state unemployment benefits. Sodexo terminates them at the end of each academic year without letting them know whether or not they'll be rehired in the fall. So this is a rough time in their lives as they grapple with uncertainty and serious financial strain.

Even while dispersed across the city and across the nation, the Sodexo workers are not giving up. They're meeting amongst themselves, staying strong together, and building a plan to win in the Fall. And they need STUDENT SUPPORT during this vulnerable summer time.

If you are in town and reading this blog, get in contact with me [chadpcarson[at]gmail] and I'll plug you in to the summer student movement.

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)

Loyola to host "Open forum on Students' Rights to Freedom of Expression"

In direct response to last Friday's events, Loyola is hosting an open forum on students' rights to freedom of expression on our campus.

Monday, May 3, 2010
10:30 - 11:30 AM
Audubon Room - Danna Center

The event is going to be moderated by SGA President Kate Gremillion and features a panel of University representatives  including

• Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Robert Reed
• Associate Provost Dr. Roger White
• SGA Chief Justice Andrew Austermann

All students are invited to hear Loyola's official policies concerning freedom of expression on campus, ask questions about that policy, and hear a detailed account of how that policy was or was not applied to students supporting Sodexo workers last Friday.

This dialogue will only be productive if students come with questions and concerns, so come and bring your friends. This is a chance for Loyola's administrators to hear directly from students, so we cannot pass up our chance to make the student voice clear in support of free expression.

Join the facebook event and invite your Loyola friends.