[T]he University of Vermont’s faculty union is pressing the administration to demand certain concessions in its contract talks with food service provider Sodexo.
The Executive Council and Delegates Assembly of United Academics, which represents UVM’s faculty, recently adopted a resolution addressing its concern over the treatment of the roughly 400 Sodexo workers at UVM.
A rally in support of food workers is planned Wednesday on the UVM campus.
The union said in a news release that it opposes any contract extension between Sodexo and UVM unless it contains enforceable provisions that include:
• compliance with the City of Burlington Livable Wage Ordinance, which applies to all contractors and subcontractors in the city and requires $13.94 hourly for employees who are eligible for health insurance, and $15.83 for employees who are not eligible for health insurance;
• provision of sick leave and other leave similar to that which other university employees such as the United Electrical Workers Union receive, including a minimum of two days of paid leave without penalty each year;
• a 2-3 year transition to a minimum of 40 percent locally or sustainably sourced ingredients, and a commitment to reach 70 percent sustainability levels by the end of a 10-year contract — noting that both UVM and Middlebury College are already at or above the 40 percent level.
Enrico Dinges, a spokesman for Sodexo, would not address the union’s concerns.
“We certainly respect their right to share their position from their perspective,” Dinges said. He said Sodexo is in negotiations with UVM, but was unsure when the present contract expires.
He said the company works to maintain “safe, open and inclusive” working conditions for its employees, and provides them with “meaningful wages and benefits.”
In surveys, 75 percent of former employees report positive comments about having worked for Sodexo and would recommend the company, which, he said, “is far better than industry norms.”
“We’d like to continue to serve UVM,” said Dinges.
UVM released a letter to the campus community Tuesday written by Annie Stevens, vice provost for student affairs, which said the Dining Services RFP Committee was weighing proposals from two dining contractors and expected to have a decision by July 1.
The letter included criteria the university required in the new food service contract:
• greater integration with academic initiatives in Food Systems;
• transparent sourcing – the majority of food will meet one or more of the following criteria:
– sourced locally (special emphasis on capturing Vermont’s seasonal bounty);
– grown and harvested using ecologically sound principles, including organic products and sustainable seafood;
– certified as fairly traded;
– certified for humane treatment of animals;
• maximizing the use of fresh whole foods while minimizing the use of processed foods;
• affordability (a key UVM priority).
According to the union’s news release, a petition with 2,626 signatures was submitted by the union two years ago to the UVM administration and the UVM Board of Trustees calling for “fair treatment of campus food workers employed on campus by Sodexo.”
Food service employees are expected to work while sick, the union claims, and workers were also faced with unilateral reclassification as part-time employees so that Sodexo could cut their benefits.
“Two years later, things have not changed very much in how Sodexo treats its workers. Despite Sodexo granting its workers a limited number of sick days, presumably to use at their discretion, the company established a points system that continues to incentivize employees to work while sick,” the union said in a statement.
“Sodexo also continues to pay very low wages, and to resist efforts to source our food in a more sustainable manner,” the union statement says. “If Sodexo is unable or unwilling to meet these requirements, it is almost certainly too late to bring in a new food service for the 2015-2016 Academic Year, but Sodexo should receive only a 1-year contract, with provisions (on wages and sick days and leave) written into the contract.”
