Author Archives for Ann Kammerer

International Week of Action Highlights Concerns Over Aramark’s Bad Practices

April 14, 2008 12:00 am Published by Leave a comment

As part of an international week of action, workers took to the streets in Ireland, the UK and Belgium last week to inform the public of concerns about Aramark’s poor treatment of workers, communities and clients.

Over the course of the week, workers in the three countries were joined by Jack Rushton, an Aramark employee in Philadelphia, who was, after 20 years of service, recently demoted by Aramark. The Union is concerned about this treatment, as it occurred shortly after speaking out at a rally on behalf of his fellow workers. The Union continues to fight on his behalf.

“We stand behind our brothers and sisters in Canada and the United States, who are fighting to build a decent life for their families,” said Jack O’Connor, President of Ireland’s Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU). “Every hardworking man and woman deserves a family-sustaining wage, access to affordable healthcare, dignity in retirement, and respect in his or her workplace.”

Hundreds of Wall Street Cafeteria Workers March on Aramark Owner Goldman Sachs

March 5, 2008 12:00 am Published by Leave a comment

Low-Wage Workers Call on Goldman to Spread the Wealth to Cafeteria Workers
Amid the bustle of the financial district, hundreds of cafeteria workers employed by Aramark at many of Wall Street’s largest investment banks rallied on March 5 and demanded that Ararmark owner and client Goldman Sachs take action to lift the city’s corporate cafeteria workers out of poverty.

The crowd gathered at a Bank of New York headquarters on Wall Street, where Aramark cafeteria workers when on strike yesterday, demanding better wages (after working without a contract for more than 4 months). Labor and religious leaders and striking workers addressed the crowd, which then marched past Goldman Sachs, calling on the company to help low-wage cafeteria workers, by pushing Aramark to raise wages and provide health insurance that families can afford, and to stop interfering in workers’ decision to form a union.

Last year the average Goldman Sachs employee made more than $12,000 a week before taxes, while the average Aramark cafeteria employee at Goldman took home only $410 per week.

“Aramark is in cafeterias all across the city,” explains Bill Granfield, President of UNITE HERE Local 100, who was joined by UNITE HERE General President Bruce Raynor and UNITE HERE Hospitality Industry President John Wilhelm. “Lots of places, lots of problems – and we’re here at Goldman because they’re not just a client they’re an owner. This company has the ability to change the lives of the men and women serving some of the country’s richest individuals.”

The strike at Bank of New York locations at 101 Barclay and One Wall Street – that began on March 4 and involves 32 Aramark workers – is just the latest in a long string of labor problems the company has provoked here in New York, and across the country. Aramark workers at 55 Water Street and New York Life were forced to walk the picket line for three months in the dead of winter before the company finally settled in February.

On March 3, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer held a hearing to address the quality of jobs created in the borough. Aramark cafeteria workers at locations around the city testified about the struggles they face and Aramark’s unwillingness to raise standards.

At PricewaterhouseCoopers and Citigroup’s executive dining room, non-union Aramark workers are fighting for the right to decide whether they want a union without management interference, and struggling to leave the ranks of the working poor. Aramark has responded by intimidating and interrogating workers.

Today’s march will bring together hundreds of Aramark workers from across the city – from cafeterias at the United Nations, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, CBS, and others.

“Goldman Sachs owns 20% of Aramark. That puts them in the position to change the company’s course. Aramark has violated the public trust in Philly, in Detroit, in Florida and been enmeshed in one scandal after another. We expect Goldman and the other owners of Aramark to rein in this company’s behavior, or be held accountable for it,” said Raynor, who recently lent his voice to calls from workers and communities for accountability from Aramark at public schools, universities, stadiums, and prisons.

The rally was organized by the Campaign for Quality Services, a joint project of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and UNITE HERE that brings together workers, parents, clergy and community leaders to raise standards throughout the food, cleaning and maintenance service industries. Across the country, more than 50,000 food service workers in cafeterias are united as members of SEIU and UNITE HERE. For more information, visit http://www.factsonaramark.info/.

To learn about Aramark locations across Manhattan, download the map located at http://www.serviceworkersrising.org/documents/CautionAramark.pdf.

Statement on the Passing of Reverend James E. Orange

February 20, 2008 12:00 am Published by Leave a comment
Rev. James Orange, 1942-2008

UNITE HERE mourns the loss of Rev. James E. Orange, a leader in the civil rights and labor movements and a fighter for working people.

“James was the real connection between the labor and civil rights movements in the South,” explains UNITE HERE General President Bruce Raynor. “He personally built the bridge between the two movements for progressive change in the Southern States from the 1960s through today. Person by person, meeting by meeting, march by march, thousands of current and former UNITE HERE members owe James a debt for helping organize workers, win fights and inspire us all.”

Rev. Orange, whose father was fired from his job for union activity in the 1950’s, worked as an organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and fought alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the other leaders of the civil rights movement. He helped organize nonviolent marches during some of the most explosive moments of the civil rights movement.

Rev. Orange was arrested more than 100 times for picketing or acts of civil disobedience. His arrest in Selma, Alabama in 1965 is considered one of the catalysts that prompted the first Selma-to-Montgomery march that ended on Bloody Sunday.

Starting in the 1970’s until recently, Reverend Orange worked as an organizer in the labor movement for various unions and the Industrial Union Department of the AFL-CIO. In 1977, he worked on the organizing campaign of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, a predecessor union of UNITE HERE, that won union representation and benefits for the workers at J.P. Stevens textile and clothing factories. He was an organizer director, leader and inspiration for scores of other textile and apparel campaigns in the South, including the Pillowtex and Cannon Mills campaigns.

Reverend Orange did not like to fly, so he would drive through the night to make round the clock shift meetings at the various plants where he was helping workers organize.

“James never turned us down for an organizing campaign meeting or rally, or anything we would ask him to lead us through, because he was first and foremost an inspiration to all of us to fight for a better world in a selfless way,” says President Raynor.

Rev. Orange was a leader in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. He founded the M.L. King Jr. March Committee-Africa/African American Renaissance Committee, through which he organized Atlanta’s annual King Holiday march and promoted trade between the U.S. and South Africa. He was also active in the immigrants’ rights movement, participating in actions and protests that sought paths to U.S. citizenship.

“Reverend Orange was one of the leaders of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride where he played a critical role in assuring that the energy and activity of this new project was consistent with the proud tradition of the African American Freedom Rides. Reverend Orange was insistent that these weren’t just related efforts, but in fact part of the greater movement for civil rights and justice,” says John W. Wilhelm, President/Hospitality Industries, UNITE HERE! “Working with him was a source of great inspiration and I will miss him.”

“Leading with his broad shoulders, this gentle giant fought the powers of corporate greed and reactionary politicians from Mississippi to North Carolina for over 50 years, always providing strength and encouragement to the powerless,” says President Raynor. “He will be missed in person, but he lives on in our hearts and minds, marching and signing

UNITE HERE Endorses Senator Barack Obama

January 9, 2008 12:00 am Published by Leave a comment

The Executive Committee of UNITE HERE has voted to endorse Senator Barack Obama for President. On behalf of nearly one million members and retirees, the union announced that it will be supporting the campaign in primaries and caucuses throughout the nation.

“Barack Obama began his career organizing working families who were trying to pick up their lives as their industries were leaving them behind. As he entered politics, we knew that he would understand our members and we supported him from the start,” explained General President Bruce Raynor. “Our organization and our members will do everything in our power to see that he reaches the White House this fall, because we know he will bring working Americans with him.”

Since the day he took a job in Chicago fighting for families who had been devastated by steel plant closings over two decades ago, Senator Obama has been a champion of working Americans. He marched with striking workers at Chicago’s Congress Plaza Hotel picket line as a state senator and U.S. Senator. He spoke at the founding convention of UNITE HERE in 2004, and he has worked extensively with the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Nevada supporting their latest contract campaign. As President, he will fight for and sign into law the Employee Free Choice Act, an increase in the minimum wage, and affordable health care for every American.

“Barack Obama is not a fair weather friend to working Americans, he has been there when the going gets rough, on the picket line with hotel workers again and again and there when we need him,” says President/Hospitality Industries John Wilhelm. “Even among this impressive field of candidates, we are proud to offer him our support in this election, and eager to help him win.”

“Barack Obama has shown us that he understands our members’ struggles and dreams,” explained D. Taylor, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226. “He stood with our Union in every step of our recent contract negotiations and showed us that he too understands that organizing and bringing people together is how we move forward. We want to make the American dream we have established in Las Vegas a reality for the entire country and we think that Senator Obama will take us there."

“What we have to make real is the idea that in this country, we value the labor of every American,” said Senator Obama. “We must respect that labor and reward it with a few basic guarantees – wages that can raise a family, health care if we get sick, a retirement that’s dignified, working conditions that are safe. That vision is what I’ve been fighting for two decades, as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, state senator and U.S. Senator, and it’s what I’ll fight for as President. I’m honored to receive UNITE HERE’s endorsement, and to carry on this fight in the White House.”

Workers Tell Orange County, FL: Aramark at Convention Center Is “Recipe for Disaster”

December 20, 2007 12:00 am Published by Leave a comment

More than 100 workers and support rallied yesterday at the county office building in Orlando, Florida to encourage the county to reject food service giant Aramark at the Orange County Convention Center. Aramark is one of three companies bidding for the food service contract at the OCCC. Carrying signs that read “Aramark: Recipe for Disaster,” participants highlighted the problems other communities have faced when contracting with the company.

“My coworkers and I take pride in our work. We believe in providing great customer service and great value for the community,” explained Freddie Burgos, who has worked at the Orange County Convention Center for 11 years. “But we fear if Aramark is given the food service contract at the convention center, all that will change and we will have the same problems that other convention centers have experienced with Aramark.”

Based in Philadelphia, Aramark earned $11.6 billion in revenue last year and paid its CEO $16.2 million in total compensation, yet its business practices are costing taxpayers millions. At the same time, Aramark workers often struggle to make ends meet at dead-end, low-wage jobs.

Recent examples abound of Aramark’s poor performance, particularly in stadium and convention center management. In Austin, Texas, ARAMARK employees became subjects of a grand jury investigation due to their part in an emerging scandal around misuse of convention center funds. Sports authorities and local officials have documented quality concerns around Aramark’s work at convention centers in Phoenix, Anaheim and Washington, DC, including long lines and excessive levels of “rodent activity.”

Aramark allegedly failed to follow alcohol regulations or properly monitor alcohol sales at venues in Virginia, Connecticut, and New York City. And 80 Aramark workers are entering their second month on strike at two landmark New York City office buildings in an effort to gain fair wages and benefits that has won the support of Reverend Jesse Jackson.

“Whether it’s school cafeterias, stadiums or prisons, Aramark’s business practices undermine quality and safety and shortchange taxpayers. And all too often Aramark workers get poverty wages and no health insurance. That’s not the kind of future we want at the Orange County Convention Center,” said Morty Miller, President of UNITE HERE Local 362.

Aramark is one of three contractors that county officials are considering for the 10-year, $300-million contract for convention center food service.

Striking Cafeteria Workers Serve Up Turkey from the Picket Line

November 28, 2007 12:00 am Published by Leave a comment

Cafeteria workers at the New York Life building and 55 Water Street have been out on strike against their employer, food and building services contractor ARAMARK, since November 12th. But that didn’t stop them from spreading holiday cheer and good will last Wednesday, by serving up a Thanksgiving lunch, complete with turkey and stuffing, to the office workers in their building — from the picket line.

UNITE HERE Local 100, have vowed to walk picket lines at the two properties until Philadelphia-based ARAMARK settles fair contracts with them.

ARAMARK food service workers at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Bank of New York and Citigroup have already voted to authorize a strike at their locations, and collective bargaining agreements continue to expire at ARAMARK cafeterias across the city. If the food service giant does not commit to raising standards, workers at cafeterias at CBS, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and the United Nations could join the strike as their contracts expire.

Across the country UNITE HERE and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are working together to raise the living standards and improve the working conditions of the people who provide food service, janitorial service and other key services to institutions and businesses throughout our society — many of whom are employed by ARAMARK.

NYC ARAMARK Workers Strike at Landmark Locations

November 14, 2007 12:00 am Published by Leave a comment

NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other supporters joined workers in the executive dining rooms and corporate cafeterias for some of New York City’s most prestigious companies on the picket line Monday. ARAMARK workers went on strike at two city landmarks, and thousands of white collar workers found no breakfast or lunch in their building.

Striking workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 100, have vowed to walk picket lines at New York Life and 55 Water Street until their employer, the Philadelphia-based contractor ARAMARK, settles contracts with them.

Early in the day, striking workers at New York Life were visited by City Councilmember Bill de Blasio, New York State Assembly Member Dick Gottfried, and Father John Dufell from Church of the Ascension, who expressed solidarity and called on New York Life and all clients of ARAMARK to help workers raise standards.

ARAMARK food service workers at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Citigroup have already voted to authorize a strike at their location, and collective bargaining agreements continue to expire at ARAMARK cafeterias across the city. If the food service giant does not commit to raising standards, workers at cafeterias at Bank of New York, CBS, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and the United Nations could join the strike as their contracts expire.

ARAMARK workers at PriceWaterhouseCooper, located at 300 Madison Ave., presented a petition to their employer on Monday asking for a fair process for deciding whether to organize a union.

UNITE HERE is a labor union representing nearly half a million North American members in the hospitality, textile and service industries. Across the country UNITE HERE and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are working together to raise the living standards and improve the working conditions of the people who provide food service, janitorial service and other key services to institutions and businesses throughout our society – many of whom are employed by ARAMARK.

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Students Bring Boycott of American Eagle to Campuses Across North America

September 26, 2007 12:00 am Published by Leave a comment

As classes resumed this month, students at more than twenty campuses across North America participated in a Week of Action to spread the word about the ongoing boycott of teen retailer American Eagle Outfitters.

College students from Ottawa to Miami and San Antonio to Montreal are supporting the back-to-school boycott protesting workers’ rights abuses at American Eagle’s Canadian distribution contractor, National Logistics Services, where workers faced harassment and intimidation when they sought to improve conditions by forming a union. American Eagle’s Code of Conduct for Contractors requires protection for freedom of association.

UNITE HERE joined with United Students Against Sweatshops, the Student Labor Action Project and the Canadian Federation of Students to launch the boycott of American Eagle in June. Since then thousands of people have signed the online boycott pledge at www.AmericanVulture.org. The campaign recently launched a counter-marketing contest called "Defeather the Eagle" – the best ads satirizing American Eagle may be eligible for prizes.

Food Service Workers Rally, Tell Companies: “We are Wall Street too!”

August 9, 2007 12:00 am Published by Leave a comment

Hundreds of workers from across the country rallied in New York’s financial district to highlight problems workers face in the food service industry, including low wages, lack of affordable benefits, and no paid sick leave.

“Workers right here on Wall Street – serving some of the richest companies in the world – can barely feed their families,” said UNITE HERE General President Bruce Raynor. “These hardworking men and women are up before the sun preparing the food that keeps the economy moving, yet they and their struggles are invisible. They stand across the serving line from people earning million dollar bonuses, and they go without essential health care. Whether they work directly for a school district or Wall Street firm, or for one of the food service giants, it’s unconscionable and unnecessary.”

Thanks to over a decade of consolidation in the industry, more than 1 million workers worldwide are employed by a handful of multi-national service companies that have taken over "non-core" work (e.g., food service, cleaning) from many corporations, universities, and school districts.

“I work at a cafeteria in the heart of the financial district – it’s just me and 30 other workers,” explained Celia Combs, an ARAMARK worker at 55 Water Street, home to JP Morgan and other companies. “We’ve been fighting for a decent contract for more than a year. And we just found out that our health benefits have been cut off because ARAMARK won’t agree to extend them.”

The rally was an opportunity for food service workers to come together and show Wall Street the important work they do and the challenges they face.

“Now we see there are hundreds of thousands of workers just like us across the country, and we’re going to stand together to improve standards for the whole industry,” said another food service worker, Calvin Wyatt, an ARAMARK worker who serves Citigroup employees at 111 Wall Street. Citigroup’s revenue, incidentally, was a record $26.63 billion for the second quarter of 2007.

“It’s intolerable that food service workers on whom we rely to feed us and our children are struggling to provide for their families. These companies are so profitable that they can and must invest in their employees. We need to make sure that companies do not take advantage of their employees, and of taxpayers who inevitably must dig deeper in their pockets to cover the costs,” explained New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., who was one of many leaders that turned out for the rally to show support for ensuring decent jobs for all workers in the city’s financial district.

Democratic Hopefuls Join Congress Hotel Strikers

August 8, 2007 12:00 am Published by Leave a comment

Edwards at Congress Hotel As the Democratic Presidential primaries inch closer, two of the front-runners took time recently to join picketers at Chicago’s Congress Hotel. Senator Barack Obama and former Senator John Edwards made separate stops at the the picket line to show their solidarity with the workers’ cause.

"Your cause is the cause of working people," Edwards proclaimed. "Making sure that those who work earn a decent wage, get health care coverage and can actually support their families and their children." The visit was a return trip for Edwards who stopped by to show his support four years ago, at the beginning of the strike.

Several weeks earlier, Barack Obama’s presence at the hotel saw him waving a UNITE HERE placard over his head. "You are going to have a friend in the White House who believes that workers can organize," Obama shouted. "Who believes in union."

Illinois’ large population and bumped-up primary date makes it an important stop for candidates seeking nomination.