Just two months after food service workers at Rollins College formally expressed their intent to unionize, the workers’ union has filed an unfair labor practice charge, alleging union-busting by the workers’ employer, Sodexo.
Unite Here Local 362, a hospitality union representing thousands of workers in the Central Florida area, filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, charging that Sodexo — a global food services contractor — has for six months engaged in behaviors that have interfered with their employees’ right to unionize, in violation of federal labor law.
The union alleges, in part, that Sodexo supervisors organized an anti-union rally to dissuade union support among employees and distributed anti-union paraphernalia, “thus polling workers as to their sentiments toward the union.”
Such behavior could be interpreted by federal officials as unlawfully incentivizing support against the union, according to a labor lawyer Orlando Weekly consulted.
Staged earlier this year, an Orlando Weekly reporter attended the anti-union rally at the invitation of a Sodexo employee whom Orlando Weekly later discovered is a senior supervisor for the company who holds authority over other workers.
Workers who attended the anti-union rally were given black T-shirts with “No Union” printed and crossed out on the shirt front. A group of about 30 then proceeded to march across the Rollins College campus, chanting anti-union messages.
The rally was organized one day ahead of a pro-union rally organized by students, in support of the food service workers’ right to a fair election, free of employer intimidation or interference.
A pro-union worker, Mateo Herrera, told Orlando Weekly after the fact that the “No Union” rally “was bullshit” and was orchestrated by company management.
Some workers, Herrera said, may have been confused by the misleading double negative T-shirts, especially since a number of their co-workers are monolingual Spanish speakers.
Others, Herrera added, might have felt forced to attend, if directed or persuaded by a supervisor to do so.
The union's labor complaint, filed May 31, also claims that Sodexo has threatened to call the cops on union organizers, and has unlawfully intimidated workers for discussing the union on work time or for wearing pro-union insignia.
Neither the company, nor the specific Sodexo manager named in the labor complaint responded to Orlando Weekly’s request for comment on this prior to publication.
Sodexo employees, contracted to work in concessions and food halls at Winter Park’s Rollins College, have been organizing with Unite Here since last August to address workplace issues such as pay, inconsistent scheduling, and unaffordable health insurance premiums.
Workers decided to go public with their union effort in February, after Sodexo managers allegedly sicced campus security on several students from the University of Central Florida, who were passing out pro-union flyers on the campus of Rollins College, a private institution.
Campus security contacted Winter Park police, who issued trespass notices to the students, kicking them off campus.
A spokesperson for Sodexo (a company with a history of union-busting) previously told Orlando Weekly the company respects the right of their employees to unionize (or not to unionize) and pointed out that they have hundreds of contracts with labor unions across the country — including contracts with Unite Here Locals 362 and 737 in Orlando.
Under federal labor law, it’s unlawful for private employers in the U.S. to interfere with a worker’s right to form or join a union, but many do anyway, because the penalties for doing so largely amount to a slap on the wrist.
While Sodexo workers filed for a union election at Rollins College in April, a date for the election is still to be determined. To join Unite Here Local 362, at least 50% of voting employees must vote in favor of unionization.
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