OVERVIEW

Aramark Inc. is a multi-billion dollar food service provider that currently operates and manages dining facilities at the University of Chicago and whose CEO sits on the University's Board of Trustees. The company employs approximately 175 employees in Pierce, Bartlett, Burton-Judson, and Hutch Dining Commons. Many of these employees have worked in the University dining halls for years and they maintain close and cordial relationships with students. Unionized under the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 743, the Aramark workers are up for contract renegotiations this July. After seeing the need for an earnest discussion about working conditions in the dining halls, SOUL began a worker outreach effort early spring quarter. Through eight worker appreciation days where members of SOUL chatted with and served food and drink to Aramark workers, students and workers were able to discuss specific issues relating to working conditions in the dining halls. The revelations that resulted from these discussions indicated that there was a need for a broader worker-student organizational movement. Thus, the Aramark Workers Student Alliance or AWSA was created in order to support workers in their goal of securing a contract that ensures a decent standard of living and better working conditions. As a coalition of workers and various student groups, including SOUL, the Organization of Black Students (OBS), Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA), Graduate Students United (GSU), STAND, South-Side Solidarity Network (SSN), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Yalla, Jewish Action Network, and Amnesty International, the AWSA convened a series of worker-student forums on Saturday May 3rd and Saturday May 17th. The worker concerns that resulted are as follows:

o There is an environment of disrespect and a lack of dignity perpetrated by management.
o The current grievance procedure does not safeguard against retaliatory actions by managers and claims are not filed in a timely fashion.
o A uniformity of hiring practices and hour distribution does not currently exist.
o Cashiers are not allowed to sit on the job.
o Hairnet/Hat and Jewelry policies are not applied uniformly.
o Sick days are currently considered occurrences.
o The workload is often unreasonable and jobs are understaffed without an increase in worker's pay.
o Workers do not receive a set forty hour work week and hours have steadily been cut over recent years.
o Wages are not currently at a level that allows the workers to maintain a stable living situation and wage increases do not compensate for inflation.
o Emergency phone calls are not properly forwarded to workers.
o Workers do not have access to an affordable healthcare plan.
o There is a lack of prompt notification about schedule changes.
o Workers are not compensated for University break periods.
o Workers are subject to unhealthy and unsafe working conditions such as a lack of air conditioning in kitchen areas.
o Workers are expected to clock out and are not compensated for over an hour's worth of time between lunch and dinner shifts.

At the meetings these issues were formulated into an official list of demands. With this set of demands AWSA began University-wide awareness and education efforts. AWSA members distributed buttons, worn both by Aramark workers and students, initiated daily petition drop-offs at the Aramark offices in Bartlett Dining Commons, and dropped banners in the dining halls to demonstrate student-worker support. These events culminated with a rally on Friday May 30th outside Bartlett Dining Commons. At the rally a group of over 80 workers, students, and community members marched and chanted in support of a fair contract that includes the provisions outlined in the worker list of demands.