This Friday, nearly 100 Tulane students are planning an “Eat-In” in their cafeteria as a peaceful act of civil disobedience to protest their food service contractor Sodexo's behavior on campus.
Tulane and Loyola university cafeteria workers have been standing up for better working conditions for months—just like thousands of other Sodexo workers across the country but have faced retaliation from Sodexo.
In New Orleans, workers earn as little as $8.00 an hour without access to affordable health insurance. Due to such low wages, some workers are forced to turn to government assistance for housing, food, and health care.
Check out www.CleanUpSodexo.org for more details on nationwide activity and global support.
Previous New Orleans Activity includes:
- City Council hearing on 4/13 where Sodexo workers testified to protest the pattern of illegal behavior on the university campuses. Times-Picayune article:http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/04/labor_concerns_presented_to_ci.html
- Press Conference on the steps of City Hall releasing a report: “Hardship in the Big Easy: How Sodexo’s Practices Leave New Orleans Workers in Poverty” Download here:http://cleanupsodexo.org/2010/04/in-new-orleans-workers-testify-before-ci.php
- Rally and march through both Loyola and Tulane universities campuses on 4/15. http://thehullabaloo.com/2010/04/16/sodexo-protests-reach-city-hall/
- Delegation to Tulane Univ. President Scott Cowan led by well-known author Barbara Ehrenreich. Students delivered a petition with 1,000+ signatures and more than 100+ faculty submitted their own petition in support: http://thehullabaloo.com/2010/03/26/campus-rally-supports-unionization/ and http://thehullabaloo.com/2010/03/26/ehrenreich-addresses-optimisim/
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Anthony Thomas, a Sodexo worker at Tulane University who spoke at City Hall said, “After 5 years I received two raises—one for 24 cents, the other for 12 cents—and now I make $8.12 an hour which makes it hard even to pay my bills. Just because my coworkers and I are trying to create better jobs for everyone, Sodexo has threatened and illegally questioned my coworkers and that isn’t right.”
By the way, $8.12/hr is $324 for a 40 hour work week...before taxes.
• 23.8%: Percentage of individuals in New Orleans below the poverty line
• 13.2%: Percentage of individuals nationally below the poverty line
• $22,050: Federal poverty line for a family of four
• $16,640: Annual earnings of a Sodexo worker in New Orleans making $8.00 an hour
