Protests Over Civil Rights Violations by Food Service Giant Sodexo to Hit Campuses in 11 States

Actor Danny Glover and SEIU President Andrew Stern to Attend Protest

WASHINGTON, April 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To protest attacks of their employees for trying to form a union, Sodexo cafeteria workers, janitors, students, religious leaders and elected officials in 11 states will participate in rallies and lead strikes in some locations; and some individuals may participate in civil disobedience.  Events are planned for Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, Colorado, Louisiana, Georgia and California.

Workers in the United States who are campaigning to improve their working conditions have come under attack by Sodexo in recent months including illegal firings, interrogations and surveillance. This activity spans eight states and is the basis of 16 unfair labor practice charges that are pending before the National Labor Relations Board.

Actor Danny Glover, SEIU President Andy Stern and a delegation of French and British union representatives will attend a rally at Sodexo Headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md., on Friday, April 16.

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. Sodexo is the 22^nd largest employer in the world with more than 80,000 workers in the United States.

Service sector workers are bearing the brunt of the bad economy as employers such as Sodexo take advantage of bad economic times to pay many in their workforce wages so low that many qualify for public assistance. Sodexo, the 22^nd largest employer in the world, despite making more than a billion dollars profit in 2009, pays its workers in the United States as little as $7.50 an hour and does not offer affordable healthcare options; two-thirds of Sodexo's nonmanagerial employees in the United States are not covered by health insurance offered by the company. Service sector jobs such as those Sodexo provides will account for 96 percent of all job growth between now and 2018.

Sodexo workers across the nation have filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging the company has interrogated, threatened, surveilled and even fired workers for trying to raise their families out of poverty by forming a union.

SOURCE Service Employees International Union

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