As we students crowd our lives with classes, friends, jobs and more, it is easy to overlook the people around us. Especially those whose
presence we take for granted, like the food-service workers in the dorms. For the past three months, Marquette's food-service workers
have been trying to negotiate a contract for the next three years. The talks between Sodexho and Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Local 1, the union representing the food-service workers, have not been going well. Last Thursday and Friday, the talks were federally moderated, but even mediation could not facilitate an agreement.
The workers are asking for an increase in wages while keeping their benefits the same. Sodexho, however, will only give an increase in
wages in exchange for slashing benefits. The company has proposed a 15 cent wage increase, but wants to decrease sick day pay by 50 percent, put new restrictions on vacation time and decrease health care coverage.
An organizer for SEIU says Sodexho is "paying for meager raises out of workers' own pockets by slashing benefits." As the main food provider
for universities in North America, Sodexho makes 1.2 billion dollars in profits. Sodexho has a long and appalling history of unethical
business practices, and this is certainly not the first time it has failed to address important labor concerns. This multi-national
corporation could easily afford to pay its workers a fair wage without losing its large profit margin. There is no excuse for the poor
treatment of its workers.
As students paying for these meal plans, we have a vested interest in where our money is going. Wouldn't you rather your money go to the
people greeting you every day and making your sandwich rather than some company executive with more money than he knows how to use? We have the right to demand fair and just business practices from the university administration and the companies with which the university
does business.
In fact, we should expect nothing less. Marquette claims that we are "men and women for others" who "care for the whole person." These ideas need to be actualized, or they mean nothing. Let us support the workers in our everyday lives. Please be alert to what is going on in the coming days, let the workers on our campus know that you appreciate them and support their right to a fair wage.
This viewpoint was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 6, 2005.