Sodexo Employees Strike, March on North Plaza

Over 70 Sodexo employees marched through the university's North Plaza Thursday. Many of the dissatisfied group did not show up for work this morning. (Peter Flint)
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UPDATED 11:08 p.m. video added

With support from the Service Employees International Union, over 70 workers, claiming dissatisfaction with wages, working conditions and treatment from management, marched through the George Mason University's North Plaza Thursday, continuing a recent push for their right to join a union.

Beginning at 6 a.m., the on-campus Sodexo workers went on strike, as part of a ‘national week of action’ against food giant Sodexo, according to Bianca Agustin, a representative for the Service Employees International Union.

According to Agustin, seven states have filed unfair labor practice charges against Sodexo and their management, who workers claim harass and intimidate them on the job and will not allow them to join a union.

“We want to be able to have a future here,” said Angelica Hernandez, who works at Southside.

According to Hernandez and 27-year Sodexo employee Ana Urias, the workers decided to go on strike to demand better benefits, salaries and working conditions.

“We want to be able to choose to have a union so we can defend our rights,” said Urias, who works at Jazzman’s in the Johnson Center.

Around 1 p.m., the workers began marching to campus, where they gathered at the North Plaza with signs, that read “Sodexo Unfair, Clean up Sodexo,” and shouting “Sodexo escucha!,” “Si se puede!” and “Estamos listos!”

Yesterday, the workers marched to the Sodexo offices located under Southside to deliver a petition with about 70 signatures to Sodexo’s Resident District Manager Denise Ammaccapane.

Ammaccapane listened to some of the workers complaints and took the petition, but ultimately told workers that at this point, communication would need to go through Sodexo’s corporate offices.

In an interview with Connect2Mason today, Ammaccapane said she asked for a name for someone to get back to when the crowd appeared at her office located underneath Southside. No name was given, and when she said she couldn’t accept the petition directly due to corporate policy, the group stormed out, she said.

Ammaccapane, who has worked with Sodexo for 18 years, also refuted claims from SEIU at the march. At the march, Fabricio Herrera, a lead organizer at the Arlington branch of the SEIU, told a crowd of students and other onlookers that one employee who had received a burn had been told she was only bleeding, and that if she wanted medical attention, she would have to walk to the hospital.

“If we had an employee who was not taken by ambulance, we would drive them,” Ammaccapane said. According to Ammaccapane, no such claims have been brought to her attention.

An employee hotline for complaints and consultation exists for all Sodexo employees, both workers and management. Ammaccapane said she also maintains an open-door policy for her workers, as she does for students.

Employee opinion appears divided. The majority of the 455 on-campus employees have not signed the petition, and many showed up to work or willingly filled in for the empty shifts. According to Ammaccapane, several employees called in this morning, asking if they needed help by their coming in early. All dining locations, minus Taco Bell, have been open for service. [UPDATE: The School of Arts Jazzman's also did not open for service. Freshens closed about an hour early.]  

At the march, Herrera said the employees would return to work tomorrow, but the fight would continue on.

“They have a right to do what they’re doing, [and] we don’t discourage it,” said Ammaccapane. “But they also have a right [to decide] not to.”

UPDATED: C2M Executive Editor Kevin Loker grabbed the below footage of the march via cell phone while covering the event.

(It's shaky, but we'll give him a break.)