US Government Finds Evidence that Food Service Giant Sodexo Coerced, Threatened Employees at OSU

CLEVELAND, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Federal Government issued a formal complaint against management at French food service giant Sodexo for "interfering with, restraining and coercing" employees' efforts to form a union with the Service Employees International Union. Such coercion is a violation of civil rights and is illegal.   The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will pursue civil prosecution and has scheduled a hearing for October 4th.  

The labor board began investigating these violations in March after SEIU Local 1 filed the charges on workers' behalf.  According to the complaint issued by the government, Human Resources Director Elaine Stewart, Sodexo manager Will Sparrow and others threatened employees' ability to work at other Sodexo job sites if they voted for a union. The U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is investigating at least eight other unfair labor practice charges against Sodexo for interrogating, threatening and in one case discharging a worker for supporting the union. (go to www.cleanupsodexo.org for more information on the charges.)

"She told us that if we voted for the union, we wouldn't be able to get work at the other Sodexo sites in town. I've worked at Crew Stadium during the summer for the last 5 years," said Marcia Snell a Sodxeo worker at the meeting, "Most of us do. It's the only income we have during the summer. I was scared when she said that--a lot of people were. Working hours at those other sites is the only way we can keep our lights on over the summer."

OSU workers are not the only Sodexo employees to face intimidation by management.  In July, after the National Labor Relations Board found merit to charges that Sodexo management at Lafayette College coercively interrogated, threatened,  unfairly disciplined, and gave cafeteria workers the impression they were being spied on, the food service contractor was forced to settle the charges to avoid a federal administrative law judge trial.  The company settled similar charges in West Orange, NJ, as well.  

Sodexo, the 22nd 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 non-managerial 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.

SOURCE Service Employees International Union

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