Solidarity With Struggling Sodexo Staff

You’ve definitely seen them around: The Sodexo food workers at UConn Health check out customers in the main cafeteria, cook up weekly grill specials, pour lattes at Starbucks and feed patients.

But the 80 employees who keep UConn Health fed are facing a battle as they struggle to improve their conditions. Their contract with Sodexo, which expired June 2019, currently forces many employees to make the choice between being insured and making ends meet.

Anthony Cardwell, a line cook at Sandella’s Grill (center of photo top right), remembers the moment he chose to forego the state prevailing wage bonus in order to enroll in health insurance;

“I didn’t choose to take the insurance until the law passed that penalized you if you didn’t have it,” Anthony says. “The extra $100 in my check went a long way. It’s a few extra meals, gas being paid, and bills I don’t have to worry about. Once the law was passed, I couldn’t afford to be penalized, but neither could I take the loss on the prevailing wages. I had to make a decision: do I get penalized at the beginning of the year or every week when I lose a chunk of change that I needed to live? It’s lose-lose no matter how you look at it. It’s a messed up predicament for anyone to be in.”

Many of the Sodexo food service workers have resorted to second jobs to fill the gaps in their pay.

“I work 80 hours between here and my other full-time job at a hotel,” says cashier Marisol Soto (right). “I need to do this because I do not make enough at UConn to live on as a cashier. As a result I have lack of sleep and lack of concentration, because one job isn’t enough to pay my bills.”

In addition to low wages and multiple jobs, Sodexo employees are overworked.

“I have tendonitis in my hands,” says deli attendant Miriam Delgado (left). “I hardly take a break because there’s no time. On top of that, managers want to add more work. How am I supposed to take care of my hands?”

That is why Local 217 UNITEHERE members at UConn Sodexo want a better contract.

“We have had a few bargaining sessions and so far the Company gives no indication they want to address our issues,” says Henry Myers, a delivery staffer with UConn Sodexo and union negotiating committee member. “We are scheduled to negotiate a couple times more this summer, but I am concerned we will not be able to reach a fair settlement. We need both affordable healthcare, livable wages not one or the other. We also need retirement and workloads dealt with in these negotiations.

“We will continue to fight this fight because our future is worth it.”

—Isadora Milanez, UNITE HERE 217