SEIU Settles With NLRB, Must Post Notice That It Will Not 'Restrain or Coerce' Sodexo Employees Who Choose Not to Participate in Union Activity at Morehouse College

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) agreed in a December settlement with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Office in Atlanta that it will stop trying to prevent workers who do not support its activities from coming to work at Morehouse College dining venues operated by Sodexo.

As part of the settlement with the NLRB, the SEIU must post a notice that states it will not "restrain or coerce" employees "in the exercise of the rights guaranteed" under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, including the right to "choose not to engage" in union activities.  

Sodexo filed charges with the NLRB after an SEIU-led demonstration involving a handful of the company's 127 employees at the campus of Morehouse College in Atlanta on October 6, 2010.  During the demonstration, several Sodexo employees who chose not to participate in the demonstration said SEIU organizers and supporters tried to prevent them from coming to work at the dining venues on campus.  

Sodexo has a zero tolerance policy concerning discrimination, harassment or retaliation of any kind, including actions against any employee for engaging in union organizing activities or otherwise supporting a union.

The settlement with the NLRB Regional Office requires the SEIU to post notices affirming the rights of Sodexo employees, including the right to not participate in union activities, for 60 days at locations visible to the employees.  Sodexo also will post notice of the settlement on its own employee bulletin boards.

About Sodexo

Sodexo in North America

Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Daily Life Solutions company in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, delivers On Site Service Solutions in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government, and Remote Site segments, as well as Motivation Solutions such as Esteem Pass. Sodexo, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $13 million in grants to fight hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.

Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions

Quality of Life plays an important role in the progress of individuals and the performance of organizations.  Based on this conviction, Sodexo is the strategic partner for companies and institutions that place a premium on performance and well-being, as it has since Pierre Bellon founded the company in 1966. Sharing the same passion for service, Sodexo's 380,000 employees, in 80 countries design, manage and deliver an unrivaled range of On-site Service Solutions and Motivation Solutions. Sodexo has created a new form of service business that contributes to the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which it operates and to the fulfillment of its employees.

Key Figures (as of August 31, 2009)

SOURCE Sodexo