Global justice in the cafeteria

TOM ROBERTSON

The University of Manitoba is currently considering bids for the contract to provide food services on campus from 2007 until 2014. The bids of only two companies are being considered: Aramark, the current provider of food services on campus, and Sodexho, a multinational based in France and one of the largest food-management companies in the world. Both of these corporations earn billions of dollars from prisons, wars, and oil companies, often at the expense of cheap, non-unionized labour.

Fast-food rehabilitation
Privately owned prisons generate revenue based on the principle of keeping the maximum number of people in jail for as long as possible. Sodexho used to own 10 per cent of Corrections Corporation of America, the leading private prison company in the U.S. In 2001, a student-led boycott of their services on 60 campuses called “Notwithourmoney” pressured Sodexho to sell their shares. Ariel Troster, former editor of Concordia’s student newspaper, the Link, reported in a 2001 article on straightgoods. com that students at the University of Toronto and Concordia University also took part in the boycott.

U.K. website corporatewatch.org points out that Sodexho currently owns 100 per cent of U.K. Detention Services and Australian Integrated Management Services, formerly Corrections Corporations of Australia. This means that they are responsible for more than just cooking and cleaning, but they are also trusted with the entire operation, including security and rehabilitation programs. Oh yeah, and they make a great deal of money doing it too. Sodexho’s 2005 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report reported that two per cent of all its revenue came from correctional facilities. This may not sound like much, but bear in mind that Sodexho generated close to US$15 billion in revenue in 2005.

There are no private prisons in Canada, although Aramark is the leading provider of food services to Canadian correctional facilities.Aramark.ca boasts serving 95,000 inmates in over 150 facilities.

Sodexho founder Pierre Bellon’s infamous comment “I used to invest in hotels. But with prisons, I can guarantee 100 percent occupancy rate every night” was quoted by Michael Moore in his 1997 book, Downsize This! Profiting from another person’s suffering means putting money ahead of human dignity. Prisons are places for healing, not for making money, despite the success Bellon has found in the industry.

Sodexho, Wal-Mart, and the U.S. marine corps
According to Sodexho’s 2005 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report, three per cent of its total earnings come from defence contracts with armed forces around the world, including the U.S. marines. Their corporate website www.sodexhousa. com/military gives a brief but poignant synopsis of their history with the U.S. military. “Sodexho was there during Desert Storm, Operation Restore Democracy in Haiti, and Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia/Croatia.” Sodexho’s defence website also details a 10-year contract with the U.S. Department of Defense worth US$1 billion to provide logistical support for marines in Iraq. While Sodexho does not engage in any active combat roles, they are clearly supportive of U.S. military intervention overseas.

If we’re going to sell out to one of these companies the least we can do is make sure we get cheaper pizza.

Sodexho and Aramark are also providers of “remote service management.” Essentially this means that they handle logistics for companies that operate in remote locations, namely oil, gas, and mineral extraction companies. Aramark’s wholly owned subsidiary Travers Ltd. provides camps for several energy companies, while Sodexho is employed worldwide by companies like Wal-Mart and Exxon- Mobile, as outlined by their respective corporate websites.

Shady labour relations
Food service is tough work and often the pay does not reflect the skill required for “unskilled” labour. A 2005 report found at serviceworkersolidarity.com highlights that the median annual salary for food industry employees at U.S. universities was roughly $1,000 below the poverty line. The report gives a number of examples of labour violations by major U.S. universities, such as Harvard (food service provided by Sodexho) and Yale (Aramark), who racked up 20 and 27 violations between 2000 and 2004, respectively.

Sodexho has been accused of questionable labour management, including union-busting, by the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HERE). A manager’s handbook on how to prevent employees from forming unions was leaked to HERE in 1998. HERE launched a website in 2001 maintaining a record of labour and health violations by Sodexho, according to an article on hospitalitynet.org. There have also been allegations of the company showing employees antiunion propaganda videos.

The Nation’s Restaurant News reported a $1-billion class action lawsuit launched in 2001 including all salaried African-American employees since March 2, 1998. The 2,600 employees accused Sodexho of racially biased promotion selections on a company-wide scale. Sodexho’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report enjoys flaunting the many charitable donations made by their foundation. However, the 76-page document makes no mention of the $80 million paid out on April 27, 2005 to settle the class-action lawsuit, as reported in the Nation’s Restaurant News. Rather then admit guilt, Sodexho would rather pay a settlement and continue to deny any wrongdoing in the case. So much for corporate responsibility.

Coming soon: pizza $4.50 a slice
Students at Laval University in Quebec City have launched a website promoting their boycott against Sodexho, aptly named boycottsodexho. org. The students are disappointed with the poor quality and high price of the food, in addition to the monopoly Sodexho holds over all food sales on campus, including student-led bake sales and catering for student functions. They are advocating for a student-led initiative to see that the profits from the food services on campus should go back to the students.

Similar grievances were expressed here at the U of M at the Aramark town hall meeting on Nov.15. UMSU’s proposal for a student-run model was discarded by the food services committee. The administration seems satisfied that multinational corporations willing to make money off wars and prisons are fit to run the food services here on campus. If we’re going to sell out to one of these companies the least we can do is make sure we get cheaper pizza.





Volume 94 Issue 16	The Official University of Manitoba Students' Newspaper Website	December 06, 2006

Home About Us Advertise Contact Staff Current Issue PDF Employment Letters to the Editor Meet the Staff Online Archives Personals Volunteer	Font Size Respond Email Print-Friendly Global justice in the cafeteria TOM ROBERTSON The University of Manitoba is currently considering bids for the contract to provide food services on campus from 2007 until 2014. The bids of only two companies are being considered: Aramark, the current provider of food services on campus, and Sodexho, a multinational based in France and one of the largest food-management companies in the world. Both of these corporations earn billions of dollars from prisons, wars, and oil companies, often at the expense of cheap, non-unionized labour. Fast-food rehabilitation Privately owned prisons generate revenue based on the principle of keeping the maximum number of people in jail for as long as possible. Sodexho used to own 10 per cent of Corrections Corporation of America, the leading private prison company in the U.S. In 2001, a student-led boycott of their services on 60 campuses called “Notwithourmoney” pressured Sodexho to sell their shares. Ariel Troster, former editor of Concordia’s student newspaper, the Link, reported in a 2001 article on straightgoods. com that students at the University of Toronto and Concordia University also took part in the boycott. U.K. website corporatewatch.org points out that Sodexho currently owns 100 per cent of U.K. Detention Services and Australian Integrated Management Services, formerly Corrections Corporations of Australia. This means that they are responsible for more than just cooking and cleaning, but they are also trusted with the entire operation, including security and rehabilitation programs. Oh yeah, and they make a great deal of money doing it too. Sodexho’s 2005 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report reported that two per cent of all its revenue came from correctional facilities. This may not sound like much, but bear in mind that Sodexho generated close to US$15 billion in revenue in 2005. There are no private prisons in Canada, although Aramark is the leading provider of food services to Canadian correctional facilities.Aramark.ca boasts serving 95,000 inmates in over 150 facilities. Sodexho founder Pierre Bellon’s infamous comment “I used to invest in hotels. But with prisons, I can guarantee 100 percent occupancy rate every night” was quoted by Michael Moore in his 1997 book, Downsize This! Profiting from another person’s suffering means putting money ahead of human dignity. Prisons are places for healing, not for making money, despite the success Bellon has found in the industry. Sodexho, Wal-Mart, and the U.S. marine corps According to Sodexho’s 2005 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report, three per cent of its total earnings come from defence contracts with armed forces around the world, including the U.S. marines. Their corporate website www.sodexhousa. com/military gives a brief but poignant synopsis of their history with the U.S. military. “Sodexho was there during Desert Storm, Operation Restore Democracy in Haiti, and Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia/Croatia.” Sodexho’s defence website also details a 10-year contract with the U.S. Department of Defense worth US$1 billion to provide logistical support for marines in Iraq. While Sodexho does not engage in any active combat roles, they are clearly supportive of U.S. military intervention overseas. If we’re going to sell out to one of these companies the least we can do is make sure we get cheaper pizza. Sodexho and Aramark are also providers of “remote service management.” Essentially this means that they handle logistics for companies that operate in remote locations, namely oil, gas, and mineral extraction companies. Aramark’s wholly owned subsidiary Travers Ltd. provides camps for several energy companies, while Sodexho is employed worldwide by companies like Wal-Mart and Exxon- Mobile, as outlined by their respective corporate websites. Shady labour relations Food service is tough work and often the pay does not reflect the skill required for “unskilled” labour. A 2005 report found at serviceworkersolidarity.com highlights that the median annual salary for food industry employees at U.S. universities was roughly $1,000 below the poverty line. The report gives a number of examples of labour violations by major U.S. universities, such as Harvard (food service provided by Sodexho) and Yale (Aramark), who racked up 20 and 27 violations between 2000 and 2004, respectively. Sodexho has been accused of questionable labour management, including union-busting, by the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HERE). A manager’s handbook on how to prevent employees from forming unions was leaked to HERE in 1998. HERE launched a website in 2001 maintaining a record of labour and health violations by Sodexho, according to an article on hospitalitynet.org. There have also been allegations of the company showing employees antiunion propaganda videos. The Nation’s Restaurant News reported a $1-billion class action lawsuit launched in 2001 including all salaried African-American employees since March 2, 1998. The 2,600 employees accused Sodexho of racially biased promotion selections on a company-wide scale. Sodexho’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report enjoys flaunting the many charitable donations made by their foundation. However, the 76-page document makes no mention of the $80 million paid out on April 27, 2005 to settle the class-action lawsuit, as reported in the Nation’s Restaurant News. Rather then admit guilt, Sodexho would rather pay a settlement and continue to deny any wrongdoing in the case. So much for corporate responsibility. Coming soon: pizza $4.50 a slice Students at Laval University in Quebec City have launched a website promoting their boycott against Sodexho, aptly named boycottsodexho. org. The students are disappointed with the poor quality and high price of the food, in addition to the monopoly Sodexho holds over all food sales on campus, including student-led bake sales and catering for student functions. They are advocating for a student-led initiative to see that the profits from the food services on campus should go back to the students. Similar grievances were expressed here at the U of M at the Aramark town hall meeting on Nov.15. UMSU’s proposal for a student-run model was discarded by the food services committee. The administration seems satisfied that multinational corporations willing to make money off wars and prisons are fit to run the food services here on campus. If we’re going to sell out to one of these companies the least we can do is make sure we get cheaper pizza.


Terms of Use \| Member of the CUP \| RSS Newsfeeds © Copyright 2006 The Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation